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COPYRIGHT, 1891 
By A. fcf. RAWS ON 

San Francisco, Cal. 

[All Rights Reserved ] 


Printed by P. M. DIERS & CO., San Francisco. 


TO 


H. O. ARMOUR 

A FRIEND OF MY BOYHOOD, WHOSE ENTERPRISE, FORTIFIED 
BY HONOR, AND STRENGTHENED BY TEMPERATE 
HABITS, HAS WON FOR HIM A PLACE OF HIGH 
RENOWN IN THE COMMERCIAL WORLD, 

THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY 

D E D I C A T E D B Y THE A U T HOR. 

































« 



























































i 

































\ 











CONTENTS 


Page 

Chapter I — Celestine’s Departure 3 

Chapter II — Lowman and Stone’s ‘Place’ - 9 

Chapter III — Mrs. Sharkey 27 

Chapter IV — A Consultation - 47 

Chapter V — John Haldon Seeks Medical Advice 62 

Chapter VI — Josephine is Warned - 87 

Chapter VII — The Professor Makes Progress 98 

Chapter VIII — The Scheme Ends Disastrously 121 
Chapter IX — Haldon’s Commitment - - - 139 

Chapter X — The Delusion of Weapon and Fiend 145 

Chapter XI — The Great Fire - - - 161 

Chapter XII — Judge Heron’s Narrative - 179 

Chapter XIII — Josephine Heeds the Warning 200 
Chapter XIV — The Debutante - - 212 

Chapter XV — Celestine Makes Another Conquest 218 
Chapter XVI — The Despair of Insanity - - 237 

Chapter XVII — Exit Celestine - - - 256 

Chapter XVIII — The Love that Endures - 281 

Judge Heron’s Investigations - 301 

Same, continued 323 

Alcoholic Inheritance - - - - 353 

Inebriety a Disease 371 

Author’s Comments ----- 404 




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♦ 





































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Index to Illustrations, 


“It’s the Best Advertisement the ‘Place’ Ever Had” Frontispiece 
Social Agencies ----- Page x i 

Celkstine Folsom ------ 3 

“Professor” Bentley Ware - 9 

Licensed Vice - -- -- --27 

“Do Ye Suppose I’ve been in this Business Twinty Years 

and Don’t Know the Ameenities av It? ” 39 

A Monument of Enterprise - 47 

John Hal don • $2 

He Lay Down by the Wayside - gj 

The Party was Unusually Hilarious - - - 98 

Celestine Anticipates a Victory - - - 117 

The Professor Lay, with Mangled Throat - 121 

“Is this I, John Haldon?” - 125 

A Lunacy Commission - - - - - -139 

The Alcoholist Sees Serpents - 145 

“I Struck at Him with all my Force” - 153 

“The Clock in the Landing Struck Four” - - 160 

Josephine Haldon - 161 

“ There is No Pang to Leave the World and Go with Her” 177 
In the Olden Time - - - - - - 179 

“You Have the Answer; She is an American” - - 195 

Leslie Montford ------ 200 

A Debutante, Eager in Enquiry - - - - 212 

A Yacht was Rounding upon a Return Tack - - 218 

“A Scene of Beauty, and a Song of Enchantment” - 220 

“Thirty-two Years!” ------ 237 

Tears Fall in the Asylum as in the Home - - 249 

She Had an Ample Wardrobe - 256 

Dr. Horace Morton ------ 281 

“ If We were in Burlington We’d All be Arrested” - 294 























































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INTRODUCTORY. 



OCIAL agencies of 
an ordinary char- 
acter, whose influ- 
ences are little sus- 
pected, are at this 
moment working 
towards the degra- 
dation of human 
nature. 

“ Each genera- 
tion has enormous 
power over the natural gifts of those that follow, and 
it is a duty w r e owe to humanity, to investigate that 
power, and to exercise it in a way that, without being 
unwise to ourselves, shall be most advantageous to 
future inhabitants of the earth.” (Galton.) 

In the consideration of the most powerful agency 
that impels to this degradation, the first proposition 
is : Alcohol overcomes the restraining power of the 
mind, and subjects it entirely to the influence of envi- 
ronment. 


xii 


INTRODUCTORY. 


The next : The action of Alcohol upon the brain 
and nerve centers, produces mania, in intensity as the 
volume of Alcohol is increased. The man who 
stands before you, his face flushed with the excite- 
ment of Alcohol, has in his brain the same disorder, 
as he who stands over you with glaring eyes and 
uplifted knife, and who would spill your blood to 
satisfy a delusion. 

Finally: This mania is transmitted to posterity, 
and it develops in some a periodical desire for Alco- 
hol, which impels them to excesses and crimes. In 
others, it allows freedom of mind through youth to 
manhood, then leads them into the realms of insanity. 

If this be true, where rests the responsibility of 
checking the ever-swelling streams that are pouring 
into those overflowing reservoirs of Dementia, 
named “ Asylums for the Insane”? 

Those who are untainted bear the greater respon- 
sibility. 

The citizen should purify his suffrage, that it add 
no foulness to the source. The man should put 
aside the thing that blasts the mind ; the woman dry 
her tears that they may not hide her duty to herself, 
and stand aloof from him who would taint her child ; 
and youth consign love, with all its impulses, to the 
control of careful reason for direction. 

A mighty sickness hovers over the land, and all its 


INTRODUCTORY. 


xiii 


patients are not in asylums ; but in the palaces and 
in the cottages, among the offices and in the schools, 
are to be found the doomed victims of this sickness 
of the mind 



NOTE. 


'J'HIS work deals only with the Social and Mental Perils 
encountered by the use of Alcohol, and the writer has 
endeavored to illustrate all the phases of those perils in 
clean language, and with fidelity to truth. 




I 



CHAPTER I. 


Where pansies were, grew nettles ; 

Where lilies, deadly nightshade. 

I S T E R Constance, 
we can only sorrow 
that this must be.” 

Sister A g n e s’ 
hand dropped to her 
side and sought the 
cross that hung 
amid the folds of her 
dress, as it did when 
thoughts endanger- 
ing her soul’s wel- 
fare entered her 
mind, or when calamity was threatened. Checking her 
hand as she remembered that sorrow for the loss of 
friends is sinful, and a rebellion against divine purposes, 
she placed it on her bosom to repress the sigh that 
love had sent to her relief, but it escaped with its bur- 
den of grief. Tears betrayed the sorrow of Sister 
Constance for the loss of the favorite pupil. She was 
much the younger, and to her the companionship had 
been as a heavenly indulgence, a pleasure without sin, 



4 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


consecrated by the guidance of a soul to knowledge 
and, as she thought, towards Heaven. Her impulse 
was to question any reason that might be given for 
this unexpected separation. 

“ She has only been with us one-half of the time 
necessary for the completion of her education, and it 
is for the interest of her future life as well as for her 
souls welfare that she should remain at least two years 
longer. She has not yet completed her musical edu- 
cation, nor her literary course, nor her study of lan- 
guages, and just as we have the foundation finished 
for a lady’s accomplishments, she should not be taken 
away. Sister Agnes, Celestine is only seventeen and 
her mind is immature,” and Sister Constance went 
through all the argument necessary to refute imagin- 
ary reasons why her loved pupil should be called 
away. Sister Agnes only answered, “ The world is 
thoughtless.” 

The sisters remained silent, each busied with the 
thoughts occasioned by the unwelcome decision that 
had been given to them by Celestine, in the form of a 
letter from her mother. Polite and decisive, it said, 
“ F or family reasons we wish Celestine with us ; 
please arrange for her departure on the first of next 
month.” 

The convent bell told the hour for afternoon recre- 
ation and the song and laughter of girls filled the air. 

The sisters had bidden Celestine to come to their 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


5 


reception room at that hour, and as she slowly walked 
across the lawn fronting its entrance her beauty was 
intensified by the full sunlight that poured upon her 
and illumined her tawny hair with golden tints that 
changed as she came into the shadow of the building 
to a violet shimmer, and in the denser shade of the 
entrance to a deep brown gloss, a peculiarity which 
conveyed to the observer the sense of her sometimes 
being a blonde, again a brunette, and in a mild light 
a bewilderment. 

In the arrangement of her hair there was a pecu- 
liarity consistent with that of its color. Cut to a 
medium length, a wave rolled from her low forehead, 
on either side, and fell over her head in ripples that 
broke to splashes about her ears and among the laces 
around her neck, as if at some time it had resolved 
to unfold from curls but had desisted when the intent 
was half accomplished; and the smile, that upon a 
side view, broke from a dimple upon her cheek and 
flashed across the full red lips in suggestive waves, 
became a confiding radiance in the full face, spread- 
ing around the soft brown eyes and filling their 
depths with a look of innocent trust. 

The sisters had pointed other young ladies of the 
school to her modest deportment as an example for 
emulation. Her dress was high about the neck, 
admirably fitted, but its mission seemed to be a re- 
vealment of a perfect bust, a long and shapely waist, 


6 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and finely molded arms. It was of that fit, the 
nature and details of which are an unsolvable mystery 
to man, but which conveys the form to his knowledge, 
as of a statue unveiled. 

These worldly thoughts had no place in the reflec- 
tions of the sisters, who stood by the window and 
kept her company with loving eyes until she had 
passed from their sight within the entrance. They 
looked upon her as a loved pupil whose actions were 
obedient, modest and deferential, and who had studi- 
ously given them every reason for approval. Her 
respect for rules and reverence for sacred things had 
won their esteem. As their pure eyes saw only 
purity and innocence they gave her their love. They 
had hoped for her entrance into the folds of their 
Church. 

During the afternoon Celestine had studied the 
proper thing to say when meeting the sisters in the 
reception room, and this, from among several forms, 
was her choice: “Sister Agnes, no words can tell 
my sorrow.” 

As she spoke a shadow of grief came over her 
face, she placed her hand upon the shoulder of Sister 
Constance and dropped her head upon it. Respon- 
sive tears were in the eyes of Sister Constance, but 
none were in Celestine’s eyes. Sister Agnes thought 
her sorrow too deep for tears, but from childhood to 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS* 


7 


that hour tears had never brimmed the eyes of 
Celestine Folsom. 

Advice for future good having been given by Sister 
Agnes, and wishes for happiness and friends without 
number by Sister Constance, full arrangements were 
made for her departure. 

The day came, bringing with it genuine sorrow for 
the sisters and some of the pupils, but no striking 
manifestations by Celestine, except an appropriate 
solemnity of features and a low spoken goodbye. As 
the convent school was located in Indiana and her 
home was in Northern Illinois, she would spend a 
whole day upon the train and arrive at home in the 
evening. She would change cars at Chicago. The 
sisters had lovingly thought of her comfort and 
secured for her a place in a Pullman car as far as 
that city. 

After arranging her dress and herself to advantage 
in the seat reserved for her, she looked around to see 
among what manner of people she was. To her, 
they were all commonplace except one. This was 
a gentleman of middle age occupying a section next 
below the one opposite hers, and who sat with his 
face toward her. She could look beyond him to the 
end of the car and still note every movement and 
glance. She soon noticed that she compelled his 
attention and she became interested. She knew that 
this attention was not of the vulgar sort. By his 


8 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


dress as well as by his respectful manner and speiech 
to those around him, she knew that he was a gentle- 
man. By this speech, which from her position she 
could hear, she knew also that he was an educated 
and an intelligent man. 

The social freedom of American travel soon led 
the way to an acquaintance, after which he gave her 
the courteous attention due to a woman journeying 
alone. I n subsequent conversation he asked her name, 
which he repeated twice ; asked her where she had 
been ; who her people were ; and he pleased her with 
delicate compliment. He escorted her to, and saw 
her seated in a favorable and comfortable position in 
the train that passed her home, and as he bade her 
goodbye he handed her a card. Her face lighted 
with a confiding smile. He saw that smile and the 
deep brown eyes in the memory of after years. The 
card read, “John Haldon, Chicago.” Celestine put 
it away in an inner pocket of her reticule. 


CHAPTER II 


A decent place, my masters, yet in it men die, and 
are not buried. 


OWMAN, is there any- 
thing to be got from 
that party, in my line?” 

The man addressed, 
after deliberately admit- 
ting this proposition 
into his mind as being 
somewhat feasible and 
perhaps profitable, took 
a reflective position 
that assured his com- 
panion of the interest 
which his idea had in- 
spired, and being confident of a satisfactory solution 
of the problem, continued silent, lighted a fresh cigar 
and made deep draughts upon its Cuban fragrance. 

Upon the streets a vigorous north-easter was toss- 
ing the dry snow which had been falling all day, and 
. piling it in huge drifts where cross currents checked 
the force of the storm. Street cars having fought 
their battle and suffered defeat early in the day, now 



10 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


stood empty and disconsolate up and down the tracks. 
Suburban trains had continued the warfare well into 
the afternoon, then capitulated, and massed their 
engines which forced their way to the round houses 
and went to sleep, leaving business Chicago to re- 
main down town, or to get home as best it might. 

The cold winds of Michigan threw upon the piers 
and along the front icy breakers that drove their 
chilling echoes through the storm, from . street to 
street. Herdics, hacks and omnibuses moved slowly 
and silently with clogged wheels and steaming and 
tired horses, conveying those who must or would 
reach home; but thousands, accepting the excuse 
which was sure to be recognized there, remained in 
the business centre for the night. Merchants and 
salesmen sought their customers in the hotels, or 
gathered in congenial coteries, and dinner mingled 
with wine laid the foundation for license of thought 
and action. 

“ Well, Professor,” said Lowman, after a silence so 
long continued that this individual began to entertain 
doubts of his ability to reach conclusions, “ there is 
something to be got from any party that drinks 
whisky, but these men are mighty particular who 
gets in with ’em, and if they knew just all about you, 
would give you the cold shoulder for good ; might 
ask you to take a drink, if you was around when 
they was out for a time ; they’d ask anybody they 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


11 


thought wanted one ; but as to getting to be one of the 
company, you might as well try to make a hot punch 
out of ice cream. You know enough about them 
kind of people to know they don’t have to go search- 
ing round for somebody to chum with, but can take 
their pick as company comes along. They’re edu- 
cated way up, too ; they’ve been brought up in busi- 
ness right here in Chicago, and you know what that 
means ; it means they are sharp as tacks, and there 
ain’t but one thing that will ‘ fetch ’em,’ and that’s 
whisky.” 

“ Fetch ’em ?” said the Professor, “just what do 
you mean by that ? They do not drink such great 
quantities, are never drunk, and as they look pretty 
healthy and seem to stand it well, I do not exactly 
get the force of your term ‘ fetch ’em.’ ” 

“Well, Professor, I forgot you’d never been in my 
line of business, and hadn’t made a study of how 
that thing acts on that kind of men ; and when I say 
whisky, I mean anything that will make a man 
drunk ; they’re all alike, only flavored different, and 
when I say fetch ’em, I don’t mean kill ’em, or even 
to get ’em drunk. I’ll just illustrate what I mean. 
You see that man Haldon out there. He come to 
this town when he was a youngster, and he was just 
as fine a looking youngster as he is a fine looking 
man now. He was just out of school, and a thurrer 
education he had, too. Well, he went clerking in 


12 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Stetson and Burley’s, that big house over there on 
Wabash avenue. He’s a partner there now, and he 
got to be a salesman in a little while after he went 
in, and used to do what them people call ‘ entertain 
customers.’ You know old Stetson is a church-man; 
Burley is too, I guess ; anyway, they never .enter- 
tained; used to use liquor at home, though, ’cause 
when I kept the 1 Thistle’ over there on State street, 
Burley used to buy Scotch whisky of me in the 
winter, and Stetson bought lots of cognac brandy and 
Bass’ ale at all times of the year. They both trade 
with me now, but never come here. 

“ Well, as I was saying about Haldon, when he 
was entertainin’ he’d bring his customers around to 
the ‘Thistle,’ ’cause I had it fitted up nice and knew 
how to treat folks and kept the very best there was 
to be had. He didn’t drink much then, but the way 
he’d fill up them countrymen, and show ’em things 
around town, and take ’em into the store next day 
and sell ’em all and more than they came to town 
for, was the remark of all the trade. 

“He was sharp, too. He knew they was most 
all willing to mix pleasure with business, and if they 
went out with a man like himself, that they trusted, 
and knew never would tell things they said or did, 
they would be off their guard and sorter let them- 
selves out, and then, you see, he had ’em for all they 
wanted. He spent lots of money on ’em, too, and 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


13 


the firm never questioned his expenses for enter- 
taining, and they must have known what the money 
went for, but you see the orders next day was what 
they was looking after, and as they always got ’em, 
they kept still. 

“Well, you know it’s natural if a man drinks every 
day, as he had to with his customers, and he had lots 
of friends too, that such thin drinks as ale and wine 
don’t seem to touch the spot, so he got to taking 
whisky sours and such, and drank regular day times, 
and once in a while them country men and him would 
get on a regular time, but nothing was ever said of 
it, for money would pay all damages, and he had 
plenty. Some other house offered him big money, 
but Stetson and Burley couldn’t spare him, so he was 
let into the firm, and then it was Stetson, Burley & 
Co. Haldon is the company. 

“ I never knew of his playing cards until about 
two years after he went into the firm. One night, 
it was about such a night as this only not so bad, 
him and the head salesman in a big wholesale cloth- 
ing house, and a partner in a big dry-goods house, 
and a big merchant from Denver, came into my place 
about eleven o’clock ; ’twasn’t the first place they’d 
been in, and I see they was in for a time ; the Denver 
man was a customer and they was entertaining him. 
I was on watch myself that night and was supposed 
to close up at twelve o’clock, but with a party like 


14 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


that in my place I’d keep open all summer. They 
had money enough with ’em to buy out half a dozen 
such places as mine was then, and after they’d taken 
a round or two at the bar, went into the private room. 
They called for cards and ordered a half dozen ‘extra 
dry ’ put on ice. When I took the first bottle in, it 
was a surprise party for me. They had the table 
half covered with bills and was playing poker. I 
had to stay and wait on ’em, of course, and at twelve 
I locked the door and went into the room to look on. 

“ Professor, the way them people played poker was 
a sight to look at. They didn’t know nothing about 
playing for keeps, and if one of them lost a fifty on a 
hand it was all right, get it back next hand. If you’d 
been there you’d had every note on the table in an hour, 
and they play just that way now ; don’t lose much ; if 
they do, don’t mind it ; plenty more where that came 
from. 

“ And the amount they drank, well, that don’t sur- 
prise me, for you see I know how it is, nobody ever 
sees ’em drunk, they never get drunk. You see, they’re 
well fed, and have strong brains ; drink every day, 
year after year, making the doses bigger gradual, and 
they can always handle themselves. Why, Professor, 
I know men that come here and drink enough in a 
day to make me drunk a month, and their friends 
and families don’t know they drink regular, but just 
think they take a glass once in a while when they 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


15 


don’t feel well. I could surprise some folks, I’m tell- 
ing- you, but it’ll fetch ’em in the end. 

“You see, whisky acts this way on a man, and I 
don’t care how good a man he is either ; he kinder 
seems to forget himself. Some folks think that it 
just brings out what’s in a man, but I know that’s all 
gammon, it only fixes him so he’ll agree with any- 
thing that’s going on around him, and just naturally 
does up his judgment, and the longer they drink, the 
easier it is to get away with ’em. Ain’t stinginess 
natural with some folks? Well, I’ve seen them kind 
of fellers just throw away money when they got full ; 
they most always do it. I tell you that whisky puts 
into a man what ain’t naturally there, every time. I 
don’t care if he only takes one drink, he’s that far 
gone. What does a fellow drink for, when he goes 
to a ball? ’Cause he knows he’ll feel just according 
to what’s going on around him, and if the women are 
good, he’ll be only lively and entertaining, but if 
they’re bad, it satisfies him all the same, and he does 
according to their ideas ; and a woman that drinks — 
well, she’s just awful ; and ain’t women naturally 
good ? Yes, a heap sight better than men, and where 
does it send them to ? 

“ Now, it’s as easy as nothing to get what you want 
out of that party, if you get about it right. I ain’t 
got much eddication, but I know a heap about this 
business. 


16 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“If you can get in with ’em, so they’ll think you 
are a man of some decent standing, you wouldn’t 
want any better thing, but you’ll have to be pretty 
slick. They’re round a good deal ; you’d meet ’em 
pretty often ; and if, after a while, they should find 
out things about you, they couldn’t shake you alto- 
gether, ’cause while they was learning you, you could 
be making points on them, and if you’re smart, get 
’em into some things they wouldn’t like to ha^e 
known, and then you’d have ’em. 

“ Now, I’ll tell you, Professor, one thing, I ain’t 
here just for fun. Them people all like me and 
wouldn’t believe that I’d do anything that wasn’t for 
their interest, and if I’d introduce you as a gentleman 
and business man, they’d consider you, and I am 
going to be plain with you. If ’twasn’t for me, you 
couldn’t get there at all, and whatever you make, I 
want a divvy. You can hold your own with ’em; 
you know about mining and western stock-raising ; 
you know more about cattle than they do ; you can 
be a stock man from — let’s see, where you’re from ? 

1 1 must be pretty far west, ’cause them people are well 
acquainted most all over the United States, and 
would be asking if you knew this one, and that one, 
in most any town you was a mind to mention, this side 
of the Rockies. I’ll introduce you as a stock man 
from Idaho, and you hadn’t better be from any of the 
larger towns, like Boise City, either. I’ll just say 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


17 


from Idaho, and when they want to know your loca- 
tion, you can tell ’em your range is near some little 
place in the territory, and you make that your head- 
quarters, when you are at home. You mustn’t pick 
out any place that’s got more than a one-horse coun- 
try store ; if you do, they’re sure to be better acquainted 
there than you are, and will get right onto you. F alse 
pretenses will have to have a fine edge if you fool 
them kind of people.” 

Much of this advice was not needed to strengthen 
the Professor’s expected relations with the Haldon 
party. The habit of acquiring knowledge by observ- 
ation, and its appliance by imitation, enabled him to 
deport himself agreeably among all classes. He was 
the son of a woman who called herself a widow, and 
who, in unguarded moments of self-laudation, boasted 
of relationship and former association with people of 
intellectual and social strength, but who avoided 
definite details when referring to her past history. He 
began life in the upper back-room of a Clark street 
tenement. Of his own family history he knew noth- 
ing. He knew that when his mother went to her work 
she left him with the woman next door, and that she 
paid the woman for services never rendered, but who, 
as soon as his mother was well away, allowed him 
free range of the halls and adjoining alleys, and even 
at the early age of four years he was shrewd enough 

to conceal from his mother the fact that her solicitude 
2 


i 


18 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


for his welfare was being imposed upon ; for the com- 
pany in the alley suited him, and the inattention of 
the woman next door pleased him. He knew that 
at the age of six he was sent away to school, and that 
before he was sent, was well dressed and had a nice 
reserve of clothing ; he knew that some one paid his 
board at school, but never knew who ; and, as the 
school did not suit him, he left it at the age of eight, 
and beat and begged his way to New York, and 
never saw his mother again, and she never looked 
him up. ■ 

Somewhere along the line of his ancestry there was 
a progenitor of great ability, and some of his quali- 
ties were transmitted to the Professor. In the same 
line must have been a black sheep, not of the family 
but of the race, be it Saxon, Celtic, or Gaelic, he 
knew not, and from him to the Professor there was a 
clean transmission of heredity, a sealed package ex- 
pressed through ancestry and delivered in perfect 
condition, without the loss of an attribute. 

His employment in New York comprised the 
whole line of light service, from errand boy to tele- 
graph messenger. Anything in which a chance pre- 
sented itself to get something for nothing, was 
entirely in his line also. Various sums of money 
and articles of value, lying contiguous to his sphere 
of action, disappeared and no trace could be found of 
them afterwards. At the age of twelve, an adventur- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


19 


ess who had corresponded with a wealthy cattle 
rancher, near Denver, and who for the furtherance 
of her schemes had need of a son about his age, 
took him there with her, and so successfully did he 
assume the character that the old gentleman fell in 
love with him, as well as his supposed mother, and by 
the aid of their combined shrewdness, they swindled 
the rancher out of a fine sum of money, gracefully 
and effectually. He then used his knowledge to his 
ov/n advantage, made the woman divide, left her 
and drifted, went on cattle ranges, into new mining 
towns, anywhere that promised a field for financial 
operations, yielding large returns for small or no 
investment. A gentleman in appearance, suave and 
attractive in manner, and an adept at cards and all 
social games, he was enabled with the first qualities 
to enter wealthy circles, and with the latter to profit 
thereby. 

He was supposed to be a geologist, and from this 
belief arose his familiar appellation of “ Professor.” 
He had learned from observation and some super- 
ficial study to know the different kinds of minerals 
contained in rocks of different colors and peculiarities. 
This constituted his full knowledge of geology. He 
would occasionally “grub stake” an impecunious or 
dissipated miner and cheat him out of the results of 
his find. He never spent a dollar for a good purpose 
in his life, except once. He bought a revolver and 


20 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


killed a man of his own class who, he feared, if 
opportunity offered, would do the same to him, and 
he shot him in the back. In his drifting he drifted 
to Chicago, and had plenty of money to invest in 
anything that would pay a handsome dividend. This 
was “ Professor ” Bentley Ware. Lowman knew of 
his history and his character ; he also was full aware 
of his evil intentions. 

What can be said of the influence and tendency of 
a business the members of which will present a man 
of Ware’s class to the company of gentlemen who 
are customers and friends, for the ultimate purpose 
of illegitimate gain ? With occasional exceptions, 
this, or other methods leading to the same result, is 
used among all grades of saloons, from the gilded 
palace of the city that pays a royal license to the 
skulking cabin in the mountains that evades the 
revenue. This is a feature of the business. 

The foregoing conversation and scheming took 
place in the private office of what was popularly 
known as “ Lowman and Stone’s Place.” This 
designation was grateful to the partners of the firm, 
especially so to Lowman, whose aim when establish- 
ing the business was not to cloak its real nature from 
the general public, but to eliminate as far as possible 
from the popular mind the idea of a common saloon. 
At various times during his career Lowman had 
transacted business under such names as “ The 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


21 


Office,” “The Club,” “The Thistle,” etc., and always 
with the same end in view, that of giving an im- 
pression of a higher grade establishment, more 
respectable, and more worthy of the patronage of 
gentlemen than the hundreds of drinking places 
known as saloons. This was in deference to a rec- 
ognized sentiment entertained by a class of citizens 
whose views on all subjects were far from broad, and 
whose ideas of their relation to the rest of mankind 
were not fashioned by thought. They maintained 
that a saloon could be conducted in such a manner as 
to be respectable, and from which none of the evils 
should emanate that had brought obloquy and dis- 
repute upon the business by transactions in like resorts 
of a lower order. 

The astute and experienced Lowman selected a 

room on street, just on the borders of the 

wholesale trade, contiguous to the large hotels, and 
almost surrounded by retail houses. A plain gilt 
sign over the front announcing the firm name was 
all the information given to the public that business 
was transacted within. A convenient alley entrance 
gave secret ingress to those who feared the dis- 
pleasure of employer, or the reproach of family. 

Lowman was a master of his business. He was 
the ideal to which all of his class strive to attain. 
Alike in character and aims ; varying only in degree 
of intelligence and tact ; occupying a social position 


22 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


just where the world of respectability and the world 
of degradation meet ; belonging by right of nature to 
the latter, but striving to mingle with the former for 
purposes of gain. These men give much thought and 
ability to those things pertaining to the stability of 
their unique position. 

In all of its appointments the “ Place” was above 
reproach. Rosewood and cherry, gold' plate and silver 
finish embellished the bar, the ample length of which 
was measured by mirrors of great dimensions, whose 
reflection presented to the eye a suggestion of im- 
mense space. Expensive cut and ornamental glass 
ware, nicely arranged to please the taste of cultivated 
patrons, was at the hand of deft attendants, who in 
clean apparel and well barbered stood awaiting orders. 
Upon the walls, in prominent spaces, hung paintings, 
rare blendings of merit and prurient suggestion, in 
which genius had spent its powers to degrade the 
form of woman. 

In adjacent wine and lunch rooms, where indulg- 
ence in dinner or cards was privately accommodated, 
were drawings, wood-cuts and engravings of subjects 
grateful only to minds corrupt by nature or degraded 
by association and the deadening influence of alcohol. 
Some of the cuts and drawings were from the hands 
of local artists, who, for an indulgence at the bar, 
gave to immorality a certain piquant attraction, like 
Belot and De Maupassant in the latest French school 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


23 


of novelists, and this was a fair exchange ; poison for 
poisoned thoughts ; sign boards pointing to degrada- 
tion for degradation’s choicest coin. 

Haldon had left his companions, who were discuss- 
ing the merits of a new painting that had recently 
been given a place opposite the bar, and which was 
the object of more than usual interest and admiration 
on account of the purity of the subject and the sub- 
tlety of its suggestions, and entering the office, 
requested Lowman to order served in one of the 
private rooms a generous dinner for four. 

This was a convenient occasion for the introduc- 
tion of Ware, and was also opportune, as it gave an 
appearance of being unsought, merely a courtesy. 
Haldon courteously responded to the pleasure given 
to Mr. Ware by an acquaintance with a representative 
Chicago merchant, and retired to the company of his 
friends with whom he entered the room selected for 
their entertainment. 

The Professor had noticed that Haldon’s eye sought 
his with a suggestion of inquiry, and felt its potency 
in discovering correct answers to questions regarding 
character and reliability. He had not held his own 
against that glance, and was fearful that any further 
advance towards an acquaintance would be politely 
checked, and suggested to Lowman that his energies 
might better be expended in the pursuit of smaller 


24 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


game where experienced judgment would not be such 
an effective protection. 

il Professor, that remark shows a weakness in you, 
or else you don’t know so much about things as you 
ought to,” said Lowman. “They’s no man living 
that can hold his own against whisky in his own 
head and the brains in another man’s who keeps his 
clear.” 

“Well, Lowman, you know that I have never had 
much experience with men of Haldon’s class, and 
have always had an idea that they knew too much- to 
be deceived by any one, and could always judge a 
man so quick that he would have no chance to work. 
Did you see the look he gave me? It seemed to me 
that it went all through me, and that he could tell 
what I was thinking about, and that, you know, 
gives a man an advantage over you.” 

“ I admit. Professor, that you stand no chance 
with him under ordinary circumstances, but you see 
if a man drinks every day, that’s different. You go 
right ahead, and if ever you don’t know how to act, 
come to me, and if you do as I say and get bluffed, 
he’ll be the first man I ever knew that could keep all 
right and drink whisky at the same time.” 

Ware put on his overcoat, saying that he would be 
back in an hour, and went upon the street. Low- 
man rang for a messenger and sent this note to his 
partner : 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


25 


“ Stone, you needn’t come down to-night. I’ll take 
your place, though it’s my night off. I’ve got some- 
thing to tend to that you can’t handle. Lowman.” 

It will not be necessary to give the conversation of 
Haldon and his party during the time of dinner and 
the subsequent enjoyments. A common interest pre- 
sented agreeable subjects, and an equality of social and 
mercantile standing favored a freedom of speech that 
sometimes exceeded the license of propriety, especially 
during the later hours. 

Ware returned to the company of Lowman and the 
evening passed on with them in smoke and in a silence 
broken occasionally by remarks about the storm 
outside, or comments on the party within, from 
whose room frequently came the sound of laughter 
and the report of champagne corks. 

At eleven o’clock one of the party who resided in 
the city, not far out, felt obliged to bid the others 
“ good night ” and go to his home. As the rest were 
inclined to further enjoyment, Lowman, who had 
stepped into their room to enquire after their comfort, 
quietly suggested that the gentleman from Idaho 
might, if the party wished, take the place of the one 
who had left. Haldon asked if he was all right, and 
upon Lowman’s assurance that he was a man of 
wealth and standing, assent was given. As the pres- 
ence of a stranger was no restraint upon these men 
of experience, Ware was made to feel at ease, and 


26 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


with reminiscences of the Far West contributed his 
share to the entertainment. He played cards in an 
unprofessional, business-man’s way, sometimes lost, 
sometimes won, and only until near the- close of the 
play did he have anything like what he called “ a run 
of luck.” This netted him a very nice sum, but as 
the figures were quite within those to which his new 
friends were accustomed, they mademo comment, and 
he remarked that they would likely get it back, and 
more, should he have the pleasure of meeting them 
again. He had not drunk much, giving as an excuse 
that the alkali waters of the West had caused a physi- 
cal disturbance and that his physician interdicted 
excess in anything. “ In fact,” said he, “my vis-it to 
Chicago is one for health, and I hope with the aid of 
your pure water and noted medical men to become 
quite myself again.” 


CHAPTER III. 


The air was filled with odors 
That went away and brought others, 

Deeper and more noxious. 

N Chicago, as in all places 
where men congregate in 
numbers, there is a section 
pre-empted by immorality. 
In some towns it is a block, 
in some a street. In Chi- 
cago it is a quarter, bounded 
by State, Van Buren and 
Twelfth streets, and by the 
river. It encroaches upon 
the boundaries of a ward. 
On its pavements, over its 
hovels, and around its pal- 
aces, the black smoke of degradation from the fires 
of drunkenness and debauchery rests, and never 
rises. These fires consume men, women and chil- 
dren, and the fuel is alcohol. The stokers have com- 
missions upon which appear the authority of the city 
and names of respectability. A noted lawyer, a suc- 
cessful banker, a merchant, a church member are 



28 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


among these names that give assurance of protection 
and security, and under the magnifying glass of 
responsibility can be read, between the lines, the 
name of every voter who gave them his suffrage. 

At night, footsteps from the areas of respectability 
turn towards this quarter, enter its borders and dis- 
appear in its blackness. Carriages with gay parties 
and cabs with the solitary skulking debauchee, who 
hides corruption from friends and family, are driven 
out of the light into the gloom and return empty. 
Youth, with the fresh imprint of a sister’s kiss upon 
one cheek, turns the other to the temptress. Girl- 
hood, with the crushed roses of innocence still exhal- 
ing perfume, follows the beck of folly and never 
again comes out into the light. Age and youth of both 
sexes and all conditions inhale the poisons from these 
fires and become fuel for the flames. The stokers 
use them all. 

Adjoining the quarter, farther to the east, at the 
time under consideration, were still many of the pre- 
tentious residences of earlier Chicago, whose owners 
had sought more fashionable locations, leaving the 
old homesteads to the care of boarding-house mis- 
tresses or lodging-house keepers, some reputable, 
some doubtful. Others were rented to families not 
yet possessed of affluence sufficient to build homes of 
their own which should accord with their tastes or 
desire for comfort. 1 1 was a neighborhood not to be 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS* 


29 


called bad, certainly, not good in an aesthetic sense, 
but one in which an inhabitant might be either and 
not lose caste with his associates. 

In this neighborhood the “Professor” selected 
rooms for his occupancy during his stay in the city. 
This stay promised to be somewhat extended, as he 
had already been successful in several light invest- 
ments and began to believe in the town. He there- 
fore took much time for observation and gave great 
consideration to the surroundings of his future resi- 
dence, and his manner denoted serene satisfaction 
when he gave the first invitation to an acquaintance 

to call at his rooms, Number Wabash avenue, 

near Hubbard Court. 

He was partially influenced in his choice by an 
incident that compelled his attention by unusual pro- 
cedure. In his explorations one day he chanced to 
stroll into the Northwestern depot just as the west- 
ern express rolled in. Waiting, through curiosity, to 
see the passengers alight from the train, he saw a 
lady of unusual beauty and grace step to the plat- 
form, and without looking about her proceed directly 
to the baggage car, and motioning to one of the 
hackmen who was calling carriages, directed him to 
attend to the transfer of her baggage. She had two 
very large trunks, two smaller ones and two satchels, 
besides a bundle, tastefully secured by ribbons, which 
she carried in her hand. As there was not room for 


30 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


all this on the carriage, the driver hailed an express- 
man who placed it on his wagon and drove away. 
With little notice of those about her the lady hurriedly 
entered the carriage, drew the side curtain, and the 
driver with more than usual speed urged his horses 
across the bridge and disappeared among the mass 
of vehicles on the south side. 

The Professor, noticing her manner and actions, 
judged by her dress that she was not a city lady, and 
by the same dress and the freshness of her toilet 
that she had not traveled far ; by the absence of 
friends to meet her that she was among strangers, 
and by the numerous trunks and satchels, that she 
intended to remain in the city. He knew that she 
was not of the fallen classes. He had heard the 
number given by the driver to the expressman, but 
not the name of the street. 

The next day he called to see the rooms on the 
avenue and left without decision, although this was 
his third visit, and as he came upon the porch he 
saw a curtain drawn aside in a second-story window 
opposite. Although it was suddenly dropped, he 
knew more from the movement and outline of form 
than from the features, which he could scarcely dis- 
cern, that it was the lady from the train. To reassure 
himself, he went to the crossing above, then down 
the walk by the house, saw that the number was 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


31 


the same given to the expressman at the depot, and 
hurriedly returned and engaged the rooms. 

Several months had now elapsed since his intro- 
duction to Haldon and his party, and as yet, although 
he had used his best and most judicious endeavors, 
he had not been able to get beyond an ordinary 
around-town acquaintance with him. He knew that 
for the requirements of his customers, his friends and 
his own desires, Haldon had carried the habit of 
drink to such a point that indulgence was an absolute 
mental and physical necessity to him, and that his 
finer perceptions of correct action were becoming 
subservient to the promptings of association. 

Unwilling to admit that his knowledge of men and 
their mental changes under the influence of alcohol 
was in any manner inferior to that of the uneducated 
Lowman, he had not depended upon his advice for a 
plan of action, but had done that which seemed best 
to his own judgment in the way of bringing about a 
closer friendship. He had called upon Haldon at 
his place of business, and asked his opinion regard- 
ing investments ; as to the feasibility of establishing 
certain lines of trade in the city, where ample capital 
could be employed ; the most healthy and desirable 
place to build a home, and of other matters, in which 
the advice of a successful business man might be 
valuable ; but beyond a pleasant and well considered 
answer he had gained no ground. 


32 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Occasionally, an invitation to step over to tl Low- 
man and Stone’s Place ” was accepted. Sometimes, 
when they met there in the evening, the Professor 
was well treated and, as on the first night, invited to 
become one of the party. Upon one occasion he had 
been one of four, Haldon, two country customers 
and himself, to make a round of entertainment, and 
he had then noticed that in Haldon there was no 
admiration for the people, or their conduct, in any 
place of doubtful character, and that only after 
immoderate drinking did he manifest an inclination 
to participate in any act or conversation of a debas- 
ing nature. The Professor was in condition to care- 
fully note all speech, actions, and tendencies, on this 
occasion, for he was not yet entirely rid of the alkali 
disturbance, and coincided with Lowman’s remark 
that no matter how good the man, or how bright, 
whisky would “ fetch him.” But the question of the 
proper method of effecting his designs upon Haldon 
was still unanswered. 

While at dinner, one day, after viewing his subject 
in all the lights presented by his observation and 
knowledge of Haldon’s character, he remembered 
Lowman’s injunction at the end of their first conver- 
sation regarding him, “and if you ever don’t know 
how to act come to me.” He afterwards strolled down 
to “ Lowman and Stone’s Place,”, where he found 
Lowman at leisure and pleased to see him. Although 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


33 


conscious that a solution of his problem was beyond 
the scope of his own capacity, he was ashamed to admit 
that any possible aid could be given by suggestions 
from others, especially, one whom he considered 
beneath himself in mental attainments, as he con- 
sidered Lowman, and hoped that the subject might 
be introduced by him, and his better ideas, if he had 
any, given voluntarily. Lowman suggested nothing 
pertaining to the subject, and the Professor talked of 
the last railroad accident, the coming political con- 
flict, and the weather. 

Lowman listened, made few remarks, and at last 
gave evidence of impatience and interrupted him in 
the midst of a prophesy that it would rain. 

“Now, look here, Professor, I know exactly what 
you came here for, and they’s no use of your bother- 
ing about what happened down on the Pennsylvania 
Central, or who’s going to be governor, or whether 
it’s going to rain, but come right to the point and own 
up that you ain’t getting along with some of your 
schemes as well as you might, and would like to have 
me help you out. I know you’re sharp, but you’re 
floundering, ’cause you ain’t dead sure, to begin with, 
that you’re coming out all right. If a man’s got con- 
fidence he’s booked to win, he most always does, but 
you see in order to get that confidence he’s got 
to know all about things in connection with what 


34 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


he’s doing, and he don’t want to depend on guess 
work, either.” 

“ Well, Lowman, I admit that I have given this 
matter of Haldon’s very close attention^ for almost a 
year, and I don’t seem to be able to get any advan- 
tage over him.” 

“ It’s because you’re in too much of a hurry, Pro- 
fessor. You ain’t going to get men like him where you 
want ’em until you get up to a certain point. ’Tain’t 
natural for a man to jump from good to bad all to once. 
You take youngsters in this drinking business, for in- 
stance. Some of ’em will drink wine around in society 
and clubs, or get a bottle and take to their rooms, and 
may be it will be years before they ever go inside of 
a saloon, and then, only when they think nobody 
knows it, and then them youngsters will run along 
gradual until they get to spending all their spare 
money in ’em, and finally get so they have precious 
little money to spare for anything else but whisky, 
and then they’re in for anything, and after a little 
while they’re no good to anybody. If I had a boy 
that was getting into the habit of drinking I’d take a 
gun and shoot him, and he’d be a blame sight better 
off ; but that’s neither here or there ; it’s my business, 
and so long as folks do as they do, I’m goingtostay in 
it. Now, you see, Ha’don hasn’t got far enough along 
yet to do any real fool business, such as you want to 
get him into, but he’s getting mighty near it, and what 


TIIE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


85 


you want to do is this : just keep on with him, and 
when you find that he’s been letting up for awhile 
you can expect that he’s going to drink enough in a 
week to make it up, and that’s the time to get in your 
work. 

“ You see it’s this way ; when a man gets drinking 
too much, his folks or his friends will speak to him 
about it, or he’ll feel it himself, and then he’ll quit. 
Well, you see, men don’t have to drink many years 
before they can’t get along without it; they think 
they can, and they think they can drink or let it alone, 
but not one in a thousand can ; they’ve just got to 
have it, and will, unless they’re locked up somewhere. 
Well, as I was saying, after about a week they feel 
as if they had all the diseases in the doctor book, 
and think they’s nothing but whisky will cure ’em, 
and they want to give themselves some excuse for 
taking it, so they go to some doctor and tell him that 
they’ve been drinking too much, and although they’ve 
quit off, they feel terrible sick and alarmed about 
themselves, and ask the doctor if he thinks it’s the 
right thing to chop off all at once, and the fool doctor 
will tell ’em, of course not, but not to drink any hard 
liquor, like brandy or whisky, but take claret or port 
wine, or such like drinks, and taper off on them. 
Well, the consequence is they don’t taper, but get 
their systems just plumb full of that kind of Stuff the 
doctor said, and they’ve got the worst drunk on they 


36 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


ever had in their lives, and have to drink whisky for 
about six months before they get anywhere near in 
shape again. 

“Now, if you can ketch a man after he’s been 
follering the doctor’s advice for a little while, you can 
do most anything with him. They all switch off. 
Haldon does, and so do all of his friends who come 
here ; sometimes you won’t see ’em for a week, may 
be two, but they make an average before the year is 
out, and come oftener every year. You come and’ 
see me once in awhile and I’ll let you know when it’s 
a good time to get in with him, and if you don’t 
make it pay then, you never will. 

“ You needn’t have any schemes or lay any plans 
as to what you want to do or what you should do, 
when the time comes ; but just let things take their 
own course, and remember when anybody’s full of. 
whisky the man ain’t to home and you can do any- 
thing you’re amind to with the house. Professor, 
another thing I want to say, and that is, you’ve got 
an idea that you know as much as I do. Now I’m 
telling you that nobody knows the ins and outs of 
this business like a man who is in it and don’t drink 
himself. So don’t get conceited, but when you want 
advice, ask for it. You’re smart, but you don’t know 
it all.” 

The Professor, with better ideas of the general 
distribution of knowledge, took his way homeward 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


37 


to prepare his toilet for the evening. The room on 
the lower floor back, in the house that contained his 
suite, was occupied by the woman called landlady, 
who rented the whole and sublet, adding the care of 
the rooms to her profits. Her room was at the same 
time office, parlor, sitting-room, library and sleeping- 
room, and should you at any time see a person there, 
it would be impossible for you to conjecture what 
was his or her mission, neither could you ever ascer- 
tain from the landlady. 

These women, in Chicago, have risen far above 
the rank of a class and attained to the importance of 
a species. They never hear anything, they never 
know anything, have no opinions of their own and 
seldom use those of others. The crowning wonder 
is their loss of curiosity. They are of all ages and 
nationalities, but all have the same “ don’t know” 
forms of speech and action. On the witness stand 
they defy the ingenuity of lawyers ; they dumbfound 
the acuteness of detectives, and even money fails to 
extract knowledge from them. Ware’s landlady was 
Irish, and her name was Sharkey. 

One day, as the Professor was ascending the stairs 
leading to his rooms, he chanced to look over the 
railing, down the hall and through the half-open door 
of the landlady’s room, and saw the outlines of the 
face and form of the lady from the train, who was 
evidently holding earnest conversation with some one 


38 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


within. From his room he saw her leave the house 
and return to, her lodgings across the street. After 
dressing he went below and engaged the landlady in 
a conversation regarding the more complete furnish- 
ing of his rooms, and asked her advice as to colors 
and styles, which advice he did not get, and after- 
wards carelessly changed the subject by remarking : 

“ A fine looking lady that went out a while ago, 
Mrs. Sharkey.” 

“ Do you say so, Mister Ware?” 

“ She is from the country, is she not ?” 

“She didn’t tell me that, Mister Ware, an’ if she's 
from the country or from the city I don’t know, sure.” 

“ Do you know if she is married ?” 

“She didn’t say nothin’ about that, nayther.” 

“ She looks like an intelligent and well educated 
woman.” 

“Sure, she might be.” 

“ What is her name ?” 

“ Now, luk here, Mister Ware, if I’d be tellin’ the 
gintlemin the names av all the ladies that come to see 
me, they’d be scoldin’ me fer it, and they’re all nice 
ladies an’ don’t be goin’ round askin’ after the gintle- 
min’s names, ayther.” 

“ And a great many women around here never use 
their own right names,” testily replied Ware, who saw 
that he was gaining no ground. 

“ As to that I can’t say, they behave thimsilves, an' 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


39 


sure I can’t tell that of all the min, Mister Ware.” 

“Now, Mrs. Sharkey, I know that she is a fine 
lady, and I should like to become acquainted with 



“oo YE SUPPOSE I’VE BEEN in this business twinty years and 

DON'T KNOW THE AMEENITIES AV IT?" 


her. If you could introduce me some time, when it 
comes right, I would remember you for it.” 

u Well, she might ask me to. If she did, I wud.” 
“ Cannot you ask her if this would be agreeable ?” 
“ Do ye suppose I’ve been in this business twinty 


40 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


years, Mister Ware, an’ don’t know the ameenities 
av it ?” 

“ But she is not a tenant of yours, and you are not 
under the same obligation as you would be if she 
roomed in this house.” 

“ How do ye know who runs the house acrost the 
street, I want to know?” 

“ I am not informed, but I did not suppose that you 
had any interest in it.” 

“ I didn’t say I had, Mister Ware.” 

‘‘Well, Mrs. Sharkey, you need not say anything 
to her about me ; perhaps I can become acquainted 
without putting you to any trouble. 'Do not tell her 
that I mentioned it, will you ?” 

“I’m not interferin’ wid anybuddy else’s business, 
Mister Ware, an’ if ye git to know one anither, it’s 
not for me to worry about.” 

The Professor went away blaming his own stu- 
pidity for his failure to gain information. The fault 
was not his. He had met the unapproachable. 

The lady from the train continued to call on Mrs. 
Sharkey and to go directly to her own rooms after 
the visits. The Professor had purposely gone out 
when he had seen her crossing the street, but when 
he met her on the sidewalk she was looking intently 
at the flowers in Mrs. Sharkey’s front windows and 
passed him but did not see him. Her indifference 
annoyed him. She never went out shopping or rid- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


41 


in g, and had no callers. He speculated much as to 
her position in the world and her probable designs in 
life, but found no light. She was as impenetrable as 
the landlady. 

One bright afternoon, Mrs. Sharkey, dressed in 
black silk and becoming millinery, and presenting 
withal quite a motherly appearance, left her house 
and walked down the shady side of the avenue 
towards the business part of the city. Occasionally 
glancing at the numbers and signs as she passed 
along, she at last hesitated before a store in which all 
was bustle and business, and where loads of merchan- 
dise on sidewalk and trucks impeded both pedestrian 
and street traffic. Stopping a moment to question a 
young man who was checking boxes and bales of 
goods, and who pointed her with his pencil to the 
door below, she left him and entered the office of the 
establishment. 

Without hesitation, although she had never seen 
him before, she approached a gentleman who was 
engaged in conversation with others in the rear part 
of the office, and who as she came near him politely 
inquired her wishes. With a low answer that she 
wished to speak with him regarding a matter that 
was not in the way of business, she enquired if he had 
a little time to spare. Handing her a seat near his 
desk, he excused himself to former company, and, 
while taking his seat, encouraged brevity by saying, 


42 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“What is the subject ?” His question, manner, and 
respectful but expectant attention caused her to omit 
the conversational pickets usually thrown out by 
women to prepare the way for verbal engagements 
with men, and to come directly to the purpose of her 
visit. 

“Mister Haldon, they’s a lady in this city that 
somebuddy that’s known to her shud give some help. 
Me name is Mrs. Sharkey, an’ she has rooms in one 
av me houses.” 

“Mrs. Sharkey, we make a practice of giving a 
certain sum of money to the Young Men’s Christian 
Association and other charities, and we expect them 
to attend to the details of distribution. If she is a 
Protestant, I will give you a card to the secretary ; if 
a Catholic, to Father Burke, and immediate attention 
will be given her.” 

“ Mister Haldon, it’s not that kind av help she’d 
be wantin’. It’s not ixac’ly poor she is, not widout 
money, but will be if she can’t git some business 
papers fixed accardin’ to the idees av the law.” 

“ Why does she not consult an attorney and place 
her affairs with him ? ” 

“It’s takin’ ivery dollar she has fer doin’ av the 
work, she’s afraid the leyer wud, an’ it ain’t anythin’, 
she says, but what a good business man cud straiten 
out immegitly, widout costin’ anythin’, but she’s only 
jist come here an’ ain’t a bit aquaintid, an’ she’s that 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


43 


sorrerful that I had a pity fer her, an’ I tried to con- 
sole wid her, an’ I come down to see ye cause she 
said she’d known ye a good many years gone, though 
she ain’t much more than a girl yit.” 

“ What is her name ? ” 

“I don’t know as she’d be thankin’ me if I’d be 
tellin’ her name, ’cause she didn’t sind me to see ye 
at all, but she seemed to want somebuddy to talk to, 
an’ she was that sorrerful an’ pritty that I jist had an 
akin’ heart for her, an’ I come to ye unbeknownst to 
her, ’cause I’m sure, if she thot I was doin’ sich a 
thing, she’d lave me house widout a word, an’ I wan’ 
to keep all the nice folks I git, ’cause I won’t have 
any other kind in me houses ; an’, Mister Haldon, 
ye know it’s very hard to fill ’em up wid that kind 
the way Chicago is now.” 

“ I cannot see in what manner I can render any 
assistance or advice. It would be absurd for me to 
think of calling upon her without invitation, or even 
an intimation from herself that she was in the city 
and would be pleased to see me.” 

“That’s jist it, Mister Haldon, if ye was the oldest 
frind she iver had, she’d niver give ye a hint that ye 
cud do her a favor, she’s that particular ; but if ye 
cud meet her, axidintal like, and yersilf aknowin’ that 
she was nadin’ advice an’ incuridgment, ye cud draw 
her out like, an’ she’d tell ye about hersilf. A smart 
man like yersilf always can tell how to get at what 


t 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


44 

he wants to know offen anybuddy, an* she always 
said when she was spakin’ of ye, that ye was sich a 
nice man, an’ whin I axed her why she didn’t go to 
see ye, she frowned, sorrerful like, an’ said she wasn’t 
sure she’d be doin’ right, she’s that particular ; but 
she said she wished her father was alive an’ thin she’d 
have somebuddy to tell her what she shud do.” 

“ I would most willingly advise her, Mrs. Sharkey, 
should she desire it, but I cannot conceive how any 
opportunity could present itself for me to take the 
action that you suggest.” 

“ I’ll jist tell ye, Mister Haldon, that a woman 
when she wants to be benivolent widout anybuddy 
aknowin’ av it, can git more ways of goin’ to work 
than all the min cud think of. Me two houses are jist 
up this same street a little this side av Hubbard 
Coort, an’ me own place, where I live, is the wan on 
this same side, an’ ye can call on me some avenin’, 
or afternoon, sich as ye like, an’ while ye’re there she’ll 
likely come in to see me, spechilly in the avenin’, 
cause she gits lonesome-like an’ don’t be havin’ any 
aquaintince an’ no ither place to go, an’ ye’d git 
talkin’ with her, an’ ye’d soon see that ye’d be of 
good to her ; an’ I think it’s yer duty, too, an’ fer all 
good min to advise thim as is nadin’ av it, an’ incur- 
idgin’ thim wid their strength, an’ specially good 
womin, an’ keepin’ thim from bein’ unfortunate.” 

0 I have no business at your house. What possi- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


45 


ble excuse could I have for calling there, Mrs. 
Sharkey ?” 

“ Mr. Haldon, business min in Chicago go ivery- 
where an’ nobuddy gives it their attintion nor thot, 
an’ ye’s cud go any place in the city an’ so little wud 
folks consider it that it wud niver be remimbered 
through the day. But I’d know what yer business is, 
an’ I’d rispect ye fer it — to do good to the best, the 
prittyest, and the most ladylikest woman that iver 
was nadin’ kind words from some good man who’d 
have rispect for her an’ who she’d trust.” 

“ Well, Mrs. Sharkey, my business requires atten- 
tion and I can give you no further time, but I will 
consider your visit and its object, and if I decide to 
call I will do so to-morrow evening at eight o’clock. 
Give me the number.” 

“ Ye’ll be doin’ great good if ye come. Good day, 
Mister Haldon, an’ I’m glad yer that good to be givin’ 
attintion to what a poor woman like me wud be 
tellin’ ye, an’ if ye don’t come I’ll always rispect ye 
fer that, but fer the good av the poor lady I trust ye 
will.” 

After business hours Haldon’s thoughts turned to 
Mrs. Sharkey’s visit and its object. He could think 
of no one among his former acquaintances who would 
be likely to find herself in the circumstances described 
by the good-hearted landlady, but, as this lady was 
young, she might be the daughter of a schoolmate, 


46 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


or even a closer friend of earlier days, and one who 
had known him as a man, while he had looked upon 
her as a child. 

There is nothing remarkable in meeting any one 
in Chicago that you might have previously known, or 
seen, from any place in the country, or even from for- 
eign lands, as its reputation and facilities for building and 
repairing fortunes are of world-wide notoriety, and the 
resident meets old acquaintances from time to time 
of whom he had not thought for years ; or their chil- 
dren meet him upon the street, or call at his home, 
and he hears his name spoken by an apparent stranger, 
in whom, however, after an introduction, he traces 
the resemblance of an old neighbor or dear friend. 
Of these, Haldon reflected, this lady might be, and 
one whom circumstances had directed hither, and who, 
from pride or diffidence, was restrained from asking 
advice from one whom she knew, but who might not 
even recognize her family resemblance should he meet 
her. That anything wrong was contemplated he did 
not mistrust. He was secure is his own integrity 
and never questioned that of others, except when it 
related to his business affairs. His reflections sug- 
gested that duty might require a visit and that no 
harm could result from one in any event. 

Making a memorandom to call at Number — 
Wabash avenue at eight o’clock Wednesday evening, 
he passed out of his office and went home. 


CHAPTER IV. 


Had glimpses rare of heaven’s delights, 

From heaven’s vestibule. 

HE business men 
of Chicago stand 
upon an eminence 
builded by them- 
selves, whose sum- 
mit overlooks all 
the landmarks of 
progre ssion’s 
march, and on 
which is a monu- 
ment of enterprise 
that throws a chal- 
lenge to the financial world. If omnipotent endeavor 
had been directed to the production of a people who 
should accomplish a given destiny, commensurate 
in broadness and completeness with boundless ideas, 
it would rank little above the people who, gathered 
from all sections of our country, and from across the 
seas, took the little hamlet of a hundred and within 
fifty years led it to be the metropolis of a million. 

Gigantic accomplishment ! Who conceived it, and 



48 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


what was the inspiration ? Merchants and mechan- 
ics came ; from the stimulating air breathed enterprise 
and industry, and inspired by their broad surround- 
ings, had thoughts of vast undertakings. 

A young farmer came, and saw the endless prairie 
dip into the horizon. Its limitlessness entered his 
brain, broadened his views and patterned his am- 
bition. He began to provision the world. 

A young minister came, and looked upon the broad 
expanse of Michigan ; forgot his creeds and humble 
desires ; brought forests from her farther shores and 
built cities and towns. 

An engineer came ; put aside his* instruments for 
the measurement of cuts and fills, and laid his rails 
on the gradeless bosom of the royal valleys of Mis- 
sissippi and Missouri ; at morning found the Indian 
and the buffalo, where at night he saw the puffing 
engine and the piling freight. 

An architect came, and finding that no direction 
presented obstacles to the eye, went far toward earth’s 
center for foundation ; raised ornate structures to the 
clouds, hoping that from their towers he might view 
all of Chicago’s vast inheritance, but when he had 
finished he learned that her domain was the world, 
and he waited for affluence to conduct him over it. 

Mercantile honor from a thing of policy grew to 
be an instinct, from an instinct became their highest 
attribute, pervaded heredity and endowed sons with 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


49 


conscientious wealth. When calamity crumbled their 
city into ashes the world confidently builded them 
commercial palaces, strained the foundations of their 
warehouses. with merchandise, and their vaults with 
coin. 

The opinion of mankind regarding their integrity 
exceeded belief, and stood on the broad ground of 
an absolute knowledge of existing truth. History 
denies a repetition and claims for this record a match- 
less page. 

Among this class, by right of intellect and like 
aspirations, John Haldon held an average mercantile 
rank. With a clear brain, well educated, and a gen- 
erous heart, made more liberal by the opportunities 
of a competence, he attracted the regard and con- 
sideration of his business friends and the admiration 
and adulation of social acquaintances. Quick to see 
and apt to seize upon all points of vantage in the 
war of competition, he excelled in the ability to win 
and to hold the favors of those with whom he wished 
to deal, and from the impulse of an open heart, more 
than from thoughts of policy, he treated them gener- 
ously. Having no natural tendency towards evil, 
and with ample restraining powers, he had mingled 
with all classes and looked upon immorality as an 
object lesson for himself, and its demonstration as an 
occasional recreation for his customers. 

With broad views of woman’s sphere, and the 

4 


50 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


deference due to her, he had put the good upon the 
highest places in his regard and had given them 
honorable thought. At home, comfort brought him 
an appreciated rest, and in the family he was an 
emperor of love. Beauty, culture and accomplish- 
ments in the highest order of domestic womanhood 
embellished his home and helped to emphasize his 
loyalty. 

Before the time in which he first came under our 
consideration no absence from that home was known 
except that of business requirements. Neither for 
his own pleasure nor for the demands of business 
had he ever spent the later afternoon hours away 
from the companionship of his family, and for the 
purpose of more fully enjoying with them the time 
not necessarily devoted to his affairs, he had recently 
completed a dwelling in a pleasant locality across the 
river, north from the business centre, and but a short 
walk distant. Other families 'of ample competence 
and like domestic tastes had also selected the same 
section of the city for permanent homes, completing 
a neighborhood covering several squares, near the 
lake, slightly elevated and intensely home-like. 

Although in society which is indefinitely termed 
the best, these families preferred the circles of older 
acquaintance and similar tastes, in which personal 
friendship is strengthened by a knowledge of character 
and mental worth. Frequent reunions of unpreten- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


51 


tious requirement and familiar association extended 
a modified home sentiment from each family to the 
boundaries of the neighborhood, which stimulated a 
general care for, and interest in, the welfare of all 
the younger members. Especially were the girls 
aided in all the graces of social life, and confirmed 
in honorable integrity by frequent and unconstrained 
association with these men and women home lovers. 

Upon reflection, you will remember some locality 
in every city where you are acquainted, the inhab- 
itants of which are pre-eminent for their observance 
of the better and finer requirements of correct action, 
where the social atmosphere is always pure and where 
summonses for divorcement seldom come. Upon 
further reflection you will remember that these local- 
ities are only an easy walking distance from the trade 
centers, and, should you take the trouble to investi- 
gate, you will discoyer that the homes were built by 
men who, because of their love for family, were 
impatient with distance and jealous of time, and that 
they are graced by women who appreciate that love 
and who, with intelligent companionship and home 
attractions, nourish it to a passion. 

Women of this class are not seen obtrusively upon 
the street or in the stores, and their faces are not 
familiar to the public, no matter how long their resi- 
dence may have been. Some there are noted and 
even famous for benevolence and philanthropy, whose 


52 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


names receive public recognition, although they may 
be personally known to only a limited circle. Their 
pleasures comprehend finer and higher enjoyments 
than do those of women who encourage extensive 
acquaintance, and who are usually gratified by general 
and public admiration, which admiration, as if in 
response to an inexorable law, is not well established 
in the individual admirer, when shared by the many, 
and becomes one relating to physical attraction only. 

Thoughtful women recognize this, and concentrate 
their efforts to the home circle and the boundaries of 
congenial association, and achieve a success in 
domestic and social life, fully equal in result and per- 
manency to that of their husbands and fathers in 
their best examples of professional or financial effort. 
Their life is a perpetual object lesson for the correct 
education and training of daughters to a perfect 
knowledge and intelligent understanding of duties to 
be performed, and benefits to be expected in future 
family relations. These girls seldom give themselves 
in marriage for monetary considerations, but prefer 
to grace the homes of intellectual equals and assist in 
reaching a social position by their own efforts. 

Thoroughly educated in scholastic and polite 
accomplishments, and with correct views regarding 
her own deportment and aspirations, John Haldon’s 
daughter, Josephine, commanded more than usual 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


53 


consideration from the women within whose circles 
she moved. 

For a girl to be highly commended by women of 
the class we are now contemplating, means, not 
only that her speech and actions may be pure and 
without reproach, but also that her thoughts and 
impulses must be immaculate, as a moral laxity of the 
mind will appear in a movement of the body, a glance 
of the eye, in the folds of a dress, or the shape of a 
hat. A rose upon a pure bosom will reveal an uncon- 
scious exaltation. Good women note and compre- 
hend this. 

So completely did she direct her thoughts to the 
cultivation of home amenities that her action covered 
all the range of courtesies, from those of self-denial 
to the more minute considerations for the interest and 
pleasure of her family. Her manner towards her 
father, and her regard for his personal comfort and 
mental entertainment, were remarked by her intimates 
as being akin to that of a loving wife. She had said 
to them, when discussing the subject of marriage and 
its uncertainties, that should a man ask her to be his 
wife, whom she knew to be her fathers equal in all 
things that a woman admires and loves, she would 
accept him without a thought of future regret ; but 
in her heart there was always a reservation; the 
unuttered thought was, “all but one thing,” and from 
that she wished her husband to be free. Her com- 


54 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


panions noticed a shade of sadness upon her face, and 
one of them afterwards remarked, “Josephine is so 
sad when we talk of marriage that the thought seems 
a dread to her rather than a pleasure.” 

Upon Haldon’s position as junior member of the 
firm of Stetson, Burley & Co. fell the duties of enter- 
taining the customers of the house, and securing and 
cultivating the acquaintance of other merchants who 
might become desirable patrons. As these men were 
at leisure in the evening and usually engaged with 
business affairs during the day, these duties com- 
pelled him to spend a portion of his evening hours 
away from home, at hotels or other places that his 
friends might wish to visit. By request of his daugh- 
ter Josephine, he had consented to give an evening to 
her society, and, as she said, “listen to something 
that is of interest to us both, and deeply so to me.” 

After dinner, music and general conversation was 
enjoyed for an hour, when Josephine took her fath- 
er’s arm and led him from the parlor to what she 
called the branch office, in which was the home library, 
easy chairs and settees, and also a commercial desk 
at which Haldon spent many morning hours in spe- 
cial correspondence, and which with its files, its pigeon 
holes and memorandum books, gave to the room a 
mercantile air. She needed no encouragement or 
questions to bring her subject into discussion, but 
startled her father with the announcement, “ I shall 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


55 


soon receive an offer of marriage from Leslie Mont- 
ford, and I must know all about him.” 

u Are you becoming prophetic, Josephine? How 
can you be so confident that this will become a fact ?” 

“ Father, our acquaintance dates from childhood, 
and as you are aware, I have often been in his com- 
pany during that time, especially so in the past few 
months, and he now gives to me all those delicate 
attentions that a girl can feel comes from the heart 
of the man who gives them, but which, being new to 
her experience, are difficult of definition or communi- 
cation to others. Her assurance is strengthened by 
a knowledge of her inclination towards him, and she 
believes her own sentiments to be a response to those 
which really exist in him. I feel myself drawing 
more closely to him, and before I give him the full 
love of my soul, I must know all, everything about 
and of him, that I may be able to recede without 
overwhelming sorrow to him, or to myself, should he 
not fulfill the requirements of my approval.” 

“Surely, Josephine, there can be no reason why 
you should not know, to quote yourself, all, every- 
thing, about and of him. Perhaps I can give infor- 
mation and satisfy you that further investigation may 
not be necessary. He was born in this city, and his 
whole life is before us. He was educated in Harvard 
and graduated with much honor ; afterwards took a 
position in his father’s business, honorably held it 


56 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and received advancement ; and now he has a large 
interest, ample in income to maintain a high social 
position. He is an only son and will, in time, inherit 
a large estate, but in the meantime, with the knowl- 
edge that I have of his qualifications, I should predict 
for him great success without that aid. His attrac- 
tions are apparent to yourself, and I know of none 
in the city who would be more grateful to the pride 
and admiration of a girl of your character than Leslie 
Montford.” 

“ Father, I know all this that you have said to me 
and more. I know and appreciate his fine mental 
attainments, and approve his moral tenets, in which 
I believe him to be inflexible. I know his admira- 
tion and respect for all that is good in women, and 
his just appreciation of the duties of men in their 
relation to them. I know his regard for their intel- 
lectual attainments, and his recognition of their mental 
equality with men ; that his conversation elevates and 
never depresses any woman who may enjoy his social 
attention ; that his association enhances her self- 
respect and confirms her integrity ; but what I do 
not know is the nature of his social intercourse with 
men.” 

“ This line of investigation carries you somewhat 
beyond that enquiry which is usually considered 
necessary for satisfactory information regarding the 
character and desirability of a possible husband. The 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


57 


man who marries is supposed to abandon his former 
social habits, and, with the exception, perhaps, of 
retaining a place at his club, will become a stranger 
to his old ways of enjoyment. Your remark indicat- 
ing a desire to know all, everything, savors somewhat 
of espionage, and, my dear Josephine, a blind and 
unquestioning trust is better than that.” 

“Father, I have no thought of a personal super- 
vision over his affairs, nor have I any interest to 
know of matters that will not affect the happiness of 
a married life ; but there are shadows cast over the 
enjoyments of many homes which are the direct 
result of tendencies acquired by ante-nuptial associ- 
ations of men with men. These shadows deepen 
with time, and are seldom dispelled. I would only 
know upon what ground he, with whom I may spend 
a life, has stood, and especially whether his tendencies 
are to an indulgence in the ever-present wine or its 
demon brothers of other names, and whether a founda- 
tion is being laid for the future need of a thing, the 
use of which chills the warmth of family firesides.” 

“You mean abuse , no doubt?” 

“No, father, I said use , meaningly. I would that 
the later years of my married life should be spent in 
the same beautiful companionship and higher enjoy- 
ments that the earlier ones promise. I ' would look 
upon the feeble old man who will then sit by my side, 
with the same love for his clean heart, and the same 


58 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


honor for his clear brain and its elevating thoughts, 
which I have for that of the vigorous one who stands 
beside me and receives the adoration of my youth. 
I would that he should carry to the end all the finer 
perceptions of the beauty of a life intimacy made 
glorious by loving acts and gentle words, and I pray 
that no disturber may intervene. 

“ This thing of many names that men use to cheer 
their brains and emphasize their enjoyments, is mak- 
ing vast inroads into the beautiful and elevating 
purposes of life. By it, the woman of taste and 
culture, as well as the one of humble attainments, is 
being wrongfully deprived of her right to aspiring 
and ennobling companionship, and by it the better 
impulses of her heart and the higher longings of her 
soul are deprived of their daily sustenance. Its use 
first deprives her companion of all the more delicate 
shades of thought which direct his mind to their 
mutual advance in intellectual paths ; next it takes 
from him the finer perceptions of correct action and 
causes him to be polite where he should be loving, 
and indifferent where he should be polite ; next his 
sense of justice is obscured, and he forgets the right 
of the wife to his sympathetic encouragement and 
cheer, self obtrudes, and things of life that before had 
interest, become distasteful ; he retrogrades mentally 
until he will fully comprehend but one thing ; that, 
with a man of character, is usually his business. He 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS 


59 


is then a social monomaniac ; returning, always re- 
turning, from the unfinished discussion of general 
interest to the all-absorbing reiterations of trade or 
profession. There can be nothing more dreadful to 
a woman of clear brain, fine attainments and varied 
thought than to have given the love of her soul to 
such a one. It is said that a woman’s love once given 
clings to its object through all vicissitudes, and what 
must be her anguish to love and to pity the same 
man through all the long dull years of her declining 
life!” 

“ Josephine, your apprehensions have enlarged the 
danger. I have indulged in what you call ‘ a thing 
with many names ’ since my youth, and I cannot feel 
that I have become unfitted for the intimate society 
of a good woman.” 

Loving arms were around John Haldon’s neck, and 
a loving kiss upon his cheek. 

tl No! no! my father, not now, not yet. Forgive 
me, father, but what it has already done to you 
causes my fear.” 

There are times in every life when a few words 
fall upon the ear, a short sentence, perhaps spoken 
by a neighbor or a stranger, perhaps by a child or a 
servant, that at first have an unfamiliar sound as of a 
new language, but which, as they sink into the cham- 
bers of the brain, develop into volumes of revelation 
which throw light into all the crevices of the soul. 


60 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


You see that it is not what you had thought, and feel 
a strange tenant taking possession of your existence. 
The old one never comes back to you again. 

John Haldon felt that he was that which he had 
not known. His heart did not rebel against her 
words, and his tongue gave no protest. No need for 
her to tell him that when a child she was taken to his 
arms on all occasions when they met and lavishly 
gratified in heart by caresses and loving words, or 
that with childlike interest he noted all her little gems 
of action, was sad when she grieved, and rejoiced 
with her smiles and laughter. No need to tell him 
that when a girl she had his patient aid in all her 
mental tasks, and by his gentle constant care her 
path to knowledge was strewn with flowers ; that he 
was ever mindful of her higher needs, and with 
pleasant history and charming story directed her 
thoughts to elevating themes. No need to tell him 
that her younger sister, fairer than she, had never 
known him thus. 

No word of trouble, no gesture of impatience, had 
ever been known in the family life of John Haldon, 
yet he sat by his daughter’s side with silent convic- 
tion of a wrong too great for the mediation of 
repentance. Perhaps he could mitigate his punish- 
ment and restore to her the jewels of her childhood 
by the endearing words of other days, but they came 
to his tongue in sentences of strange construction 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


61 


and he suppressed their utterance. Perhaps a look 
of love, such as she used to say the angels must have 
sent him, would bring her hearts forgiveness and 
open the doors of his imprisoned affections, but 
when he raised his eyes his soul refused them luster. 

“ Father, have I offended ?” aroused him from a 
reverie that had nearly become a trance. He had for- 
gotten the present and the things about him ; forgotten 
the daughter by his side, and gone back to visit the 
John Haldon of his early manhood, who refused him 
recognition and taunted him with unworthiness. 

“ No, Josephine, but I cannot give this subject any 
further thought, not to-night. I will investigate as 
you suggest, and we will resume it upon some future 
evening not far distant. Will you sing for me ?” 

She went to the piano in the parlor and sang ; new 
compositions, gems of opera, old home songs, and 
verses of love. An hour passed and no word of 
request or approbation came from her father, who still 
sat at his desk in the library. When her songs were 
ended he came out and gave her a good-night kiss, 
and without turning, as usual, to the locker in the 
dining-room, went to his chamber. 


CHAPTER V. 


“I can use it or let it alone,” is the motto of 
millions. The crest is a grinning devil’s head. 



ALDON’S serious 
manner the next 
day caused many 
inquiries from his 
business associ- 
ates and friends 
regarding his 
health or possible 
perplexities, they 
having observed 
that something of 
an unusual nature 
was claiming his 
attention. Josephine’s thoughts, expressed the eve- 
ning before, were revelations of his retrogression in 
family and social action, and his own conclusions 
suggested a proportionate decline of mercantile 
acumen. 

Fifteen years had now elapsed since his partnership 
admission into the house of Stetson and Burley, and 
during that time he had used liquors for the purpose 




THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


63 


of furthering the interests of the firm, and for social 
enjoyments. He had not considered their use to be 
an injury to his mental or physical powers, and had, 
in common with others who indulge, supposed that 
an application of will power was all that would be 
necessary to enable him to discontinue that use. 
Holding this opinion, and being convinced that this 
would be better for his family, himself, and his busi- 
ness, he resolved to “let it alone,” and started upon 
that journey of abstinence which harbors along its 
route, giants who resist, and sirens who lure. * Few 
there are who escape and reach their destination. 

During the afternoon his mind was disturbed by 
close attention given to business, unaided by the 
usual stimulant to spur his endeavors, and without 
his memorandum he would have forgotten Mrs. 

Sharkey, and her number, Wabash avenue. 

While he questioned the propriety of a call, in the 
evening he felt much depressed and reasoned that 
perhaps an act of kindness to one in need might also 
be of benefit to himself, and at the suggested time 
he rang the bell of that lady’s door. He was re- 
ceived graciously. 

“Ah, Mister Haldon, it was so good av ye to 
come. I could see ye was a good man whin I was 
at yer store.” 

She then led the way to the first floor room back, 
and lighted other gas jets in the chandelier. 


64 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


a It’s hersilf has been wid me the day a-fixin’ over 
some dresses she said she wore whin she was goin’ to 
school, an’ the way she tuk thim in here, an’ 1 et thim 
out there, an’ made thim luk exac’ly like they was 
jist away from the dressmaker wud be astonishin’ to 
ye. She said she liked old dresses if they was 
dacent an’ didn’t be shabby, ’cause they was a-remindin’ 
her of times whin she didn’t be knowin’ they was 
anythin’ in this world at all but to be j’y’us. Poor 
dear ! She’s been actin’ that ankshis and low spirited 
that I cud a cried fer her, an’ I’ve done the bist I cud 
to cheer her up, but I’m a poor woman widout much 
eddication, an’ I belave that somebuddy that’s more 
her kind an’ wud know how to advise wid her, wud 
make her be jist as happy as she iver was, but she don’t 
be wantin’ to crowd hersilf onywhere, she’s that par- 
ticular, and she’s that pritty she cud git in any society 
in the world.” 

“If she has been with you during the day she will 
not be likely to come in the evening.” 

“Ah, Mister Haldon, that she will; she left some 
av her things on the sewin’ machine, beyant, a whole 
pile av thim, an’ wud not be lavin’ thim in me way 
the night, she’s that particular and even while she 
spoke the outer door was heard to close lightly. 
“ That’s hersilf now ; she don’t ring the bell, ’cause I 
told her we was that aquainted ’twas like mesilf 
cornin’ in. I’ll go to the hall and tell her somethin’ 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


65 


why a gintlemin like yersilf should be callin’ at me 
house in the avenin’.” 

The low conversation of the women in the hall 
was interrupted by the clang of the door-bell. Hal- 
don heard Mrs. Sharkey say to the other, “ Ye go 
right into the room, the gintlemin will not disturb ye, 
an’ I will anser the door bell.” 

The lady came in, closed the door behind her, and 
without a glance to that part of the room in which 
Haldon was seated, she walked to the sewing machine 
and began to arrange her work as if to remove it. 

A remembrance of youth, and innocence, and 
beauty, came upon John Haldon. He arose from his 
seat with the impulse of recognition and went towards 
her. She turned as he approached and stood before 
him in the full light of the chandelier. He saw the 
soft brown eyes, the confiding smile, and the entic- 
ing form of Celestine Folsom ; the eyes more tender, 
the smile more alluring, and the form more enchant- 
ing than those of girlhood. He took her hand res- 
pectfully and told her of his surprise in words of 
pleasure, and of the memory that had kept with him 
since their first meeting. 

Celestine said, “Then you have sometimes thought 
of the school girl that you met on the train?” 

“ Quite often, and I am pleased to meet the woman 
that she has become, and would know, should she 
consent to tell me, if the intervening years have 


G6 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


brought happiness, or whether unmerited troubles 
have appeared.” 

Celestine arranged his seat and sat before him, still 
keeping herself in the full light of the chandelier, 
and told him that her pleasures had been few ; that 
she had married soon after he saw her on the train, 
because of the advice and solicitation of parents and 
friends, and supposed that her husband was a man of 
brains, as her mother told her that any man who 
had the means that he possessed, must be, and 
that because he was not vivacious and brilliant, she 
must not suppose him dull, but would,, with longer 
acquaintance, find in him much merit. As she was 
young and inexperienced, she had taken him and 
found that he had inherited wealth and had already 
lost the most of it by injudicious ventures. She did 
not care so much for that, as she could bear anything 
for the sake of a brainy man whom she could look 
upon with pride, but she found him to be of the lower 
order in intellect, and a while after marriage, gross in 
habits. That he died three years after their mar- 
riage, and she could not mourn, as she could see 
nothing to grieve about. 

She went home to her father, and as she detested 
everything connected with her married life, she had 
resumed her old name and was still Celestine Folsom, 
and would so continue, except when she might have 
some law business and was obliged to sign her mar- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


67 


ried name. Her father died and her mother married 
again ; then the old home seemed a strange place, 
and she came to Chicago because she had supposed 
that the little her father had given to her and the 
remnants of her husband’s inheritance would support 
her in a modest quiet way, and that she could see 
more of the attractive things of life, and find better 
facilities for completing her musical education, unfin- 
ished at school. Besides, she had so much unsought 
attention in the town where she lived, and received 
so many offers of marriage that she was annoyed. 
She did not believe that she would ever marry again, 
as it seemed to her that all the men of brains, and 
other qualities which attracted her, were already mar- 
ried. Latterly she had found a difficulty regarding 
payments from people who were in her husband’s 
debt, and this had caused anxiety regarding her future 
income. She had sorely felt the need of an adviser 
since her father died, and could not afford to employ 
an attorney. 

Haldon’s sympathy impelled him to say, “I would 
be pleased to aid you with any advice that may be 
safely given without professional legal knowledge.” 

Thanks beamed from the soft brown eyes and 
gave greater assurance of gratitude than the pleasant 
words from her tongue. After a further conversa- 
tion relating to her affairs she said : “My rooms are 
opposite, and all my papers and letters are there. I 


68 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


have a comfortable parlor. If you can give me a 
little time, we will go there.” 

Upon Haldon’s consent to accompany her she led 
the way to the street and forgot the bundle on the 
sewing machine. 

A room is the outward manifestation of the intel- 
lectual furnishment of its occupant, and gives sugges- 
tions of character and tendencies. Some rooms 
present to the mind a symmetry and completeness 
of character and personality, while others suggest 
peculiar and prominent qualities. In these, articles 
and arrangements obtrude themselves upon the sense 
of a visitor. 

Upon entering Celestine’s parlor Haldon was con- 
scious of a different impression from that received 
upon entering the rooms of his intimates or social 
friends. Had he been a philosopher, he would have 
seen her character scattered round about him, but he 
was a merchant with finer perceptions dulled by 
stimulation, and what he did see was, individual 
articles obtruding themselves upon his notice, and 
that they were endowed with the potency of sugges- 
tion. The first that compelled his attention was the 
large easy-chair with cushioned arms; it seemed to 
expect his use ; he did, in fact, approach it before 
Celestine requested him to be seated, and after she 
had retired to the dressing-room to remove her wraps 
and arrange her hair, which the wind had disturbed, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


69 


his attention was claimed by other articles with the 
same force of obtrusiveness as by the easy-chair. 

He noticed one footstool of three, which was made 
lower and broader than the others ; he knew that she 
would push it to his feet when she came in ; his eyes 
rested upon the lounge covered with crimson silk ; it 
suggested the outlines of Celestine’s form reclining 
on its length; and in the pier glass, between the 
windows, Celestine’s confiding smile came and went 
with the flicker of the grate fire opposite. 

The curtains hanging across the arched opening 
to the sleeping-room swayed to and fro, parted in 
their motions, held their edges back and wantonly 
invited observation of luxurious privacy. Embroid- 
ered pockets of shining beads were deftly caught by 
ribboned meshes to the door-knobs and obtruded 
their unfamiliar uses. An armless bamboo chair, 
with low seat and back, seemed looking for its hiding- 
place behind form and drapery, and proclaimed its 
intention to aid in display of outlines and unrestricted 
movements, and the painting that hung over the 
mantel obtruded its assertion of the owners regard 
for purity and innocence. All else in the room 
seemed to shrink from observation. 

Celestine soon returned, bringing with her a bundle 
of papers, well arranged and secured by ribbons neatly 
tied in double bows, laid it on the broad-cushioned 
arm of the easy-chair in which Haldon was sitting, 


70 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


pushed to his feet the low footstool of the three, 
placed the bamboo chair close by it, and seated her- 
self, the light from the gas jets above his head shining 
full upon her, showing all the finer details of perfect 
features and complexion and the rounded and supple 
lines of form. 

She took the bundle and opened it, and handed 
him the papers which perplexed her. They were 
what she had called the remnants of her husband’s 
inheritance. As he died childless, and no other heirs 
appeared or could be found, she was allowed all the 
benefits of what remained. Mortgages on small 
holdings in a western town, deserted by the unfilial 
boom that conceived it, with partial, remote, and a 
few recent payments indicated on the notes, consti- 
tuted the principal value. A certificate of stock, 
covering one-fourth interest in a silver mine, the 
name of which was not familiar to Haldon, was the 
remainder. She also informed him that she had 
some things relating to her father’s estate, of which 
her mother was the executrix. She did not wish to 
consider them with one who was almost a stranger 
to her, but might do so in the future. A very deli- 
cate family matter was involved with these. 

About the mortgages upon which she depended 
for present needs, she wished that she could know 
whether foreclosure was the better course to pursue, 
and feared that this might deprive her of all income, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


71 


perhaps for a year; and she did not know how she 
could maintain herself were she deprived of it. 

Haldon proposed to take them and correspond 
with parties whom he knew in that section and ascer- 
tain particulars, and would also take the mining cer- 
tificate and look into that. 

With thanks so fervently given that Haldon felt 
over-paid for his attention, she began to arrange and 
secure the papers in convenient form for reference. 
As she did so, a card fell from among them to the 
cushioned arm of the chair. With delighted gestures 
Celestine said, “ I am so glad to find it ; I feared that 
it was lost and have looked everywhere for it.” 

She took it from the arm of the chair and placed 
it among the leaves of a copy of Byron that lay upon 
the table to her right. In the instant that it remained 
on the arm of the chair, Haldon had seen his own 
name and city written upon it. He had noted her 
pleasure when it fell upon her sight and the care she 
evinced for its future safety. The subtle flattery of 
its careful preservation for many years aroused his 
selfhood and pointed to his many claims for admi- 
ration. 

“ What could I have said, Miss Folsom, that you 
should remember our interview and preserve its 
memento with such care ?” 

“Mr. Haldon, you came to my seat in the car and 
when you spoke to me it seemed that I had been a 


72 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


long time acquainted with you. You talked about 
things I had thought about and took an interest in 
those I was engaged in, and I felt like telling you 
everything I knew. I felt that you knew all about 
me, and I even felt astonished when you asked me 
what my name was and where I lived. I never met 
anybody else like that, and you won’t blame me for 
thinking about you sometimes.” 

“ Miss Folsom, I supposed that you would ascribe 
my effort to please simply to the admiration that all 
must have had for your manner and personality.” 

“ I did not believe so about you, Mr. Haldon, and 
I was not thinking of my own attractions, either, 
when I was talking with you.” 

Haldon was impressed with that sense of being 
appreciated which is the essence of companionship, 
and he forgot about Celestine’s unknown social rank, 
her tangled grammar and her unfinished training in 
the school of thought, and with words of intellectual 
strength he gave her pleasure for an hour. At the 
end of a conversation relating to the sociabilities of a 
domestic life, she said : 

“It was always my ambition to marry a brainy 
man, but I was so disappointed that I shall never 
think of marriage again. I have admiration for intel- 
ligence and am so thankful to you for the gratification 
that you have given me this evening, and I cannot 
bear to think that this is only an acquaintance which 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 73 

will end when your charitable object shall have been 
accomplished in my favor. I do not believe women 
generally appreciate the value of intellect in their 
husbands, but keep up associations with other women 
and spend most of their time in society, and it seems 
strange to me. If I had such a husband, I would 
give him and his home every moment of my life. I 
would look for new ways to minister to his pleas- 
ure and keep him always by me. There is nothing 
that I would not do to make him love me.” 

While speaking, she had rested her arm upon the 
cushioned one of Haldon’s chair and brought her 
beautiful face near to his. He saw innocence in the 
eyes and frankness in the smile, but the outlines of 
the drapery and form seemed about to enfold him. 

Rising, he said, “ I shall see you occasionally with 
pleasure, and upon receipt of information regarding 
the mortgages I will call upon you again. The 
requirements of my business are of such a nature that 
I can see you only in the evening, and I will send 
you a message the day before that you may be at 
home when I call.” 

“Mr. Haldon, that is not necessary. I never go 
out, except across the street, and never stay there 
through the evening. You know that I have no 
acquaintance here and do not encourage any, and 
you will always find me ready to hear what you may 
have to say.” 


74 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


The remembrance that John Haldon took with 
him upon the street was that of an enticing person- 
ality — Celestine’s eyes, her face and form. 

When in his chamber he thought with pleasure 
upon his forgetfulness of the usual evening stimulant 
and complacently regarded himself beyond the influ- 
ence of desire for further indulgence ; but the night 
was restless and the morning brought annoyances. 
As the conversation during the family reunion brought 
none of its wonted interest and pleasure, he went 
earlier than usual to his office, and immediately upon 
his arrival there, to his work, with correspondence 
and other duties. Just before the noon hour he made 
a remarkable discovery. His work, that had usually 
occupied the whole day and sometimes invaded his 
hours for recreation, was finished. Attention to 
occasional customers or solicitations from importunate 
brokers there might be, but the solid work of the day 
was done and the amount was the usual average. 

He thought of Celestine’s mortgages, and that he 
could use the spare time of the afternoon in corres- 
pondence regarding them, which he did by writing a 
letter to a valued customer whose place of business 
was in the same town in which their claims were 
recorded, requesting him, as a personal favor, to 
make a close investigation, not only as to value, but 
also regarding the probable disposition and ability of 
the different mortgagees to pay in whole or in part, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


75 


and whether such payments could be expected in the 
near future; asked his advice relating to the best 
course to pursue, and covered all the range of enquiry 
that he would require of an attorney who was 
employed in his own affairs. He took the certificate 
of stock in the silver mine, and, without expecting 
valuable information, read it to the end, and found 
among the signatures of other official names that of 
Bentley Ware, Secretary. 

Haldon credited him with the control of large 
means, a$ the business in which he said he was 
engaged required it ; also, with the possession of 
good judgment, as he had often come to him for 
advice. He did not believe that Ware would invest 
in anything unless it would bear investigation, and 
found himself rejoicing that Celestine’s one-fourth 
interest in the “ Silver Star ” mine might be of great 
value, and thought of an immediate interview with 
Ware regarding it. 

Every man who has been long engaged in business 
is sometimes conscious of an influence that leads him 
away from the line of action that has the full approval 
of his reason, and an impulse, as from the air about 
him, suggests another course, and he acts upon it. 
So Haldon, instead of seeking Ware as the most 
reasonable source of information, directed a letter to 
an attorney in Tucson, near which city the “Silver 
Star” was located, enclosed a small check as a 


76 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


retainer, and made enquiries regarding the mine, and 
incidentally of the financial and social standing of the 
officers, especially the Secretary. 

As there was still an hour before the usual time 
for his family dinner, he left the office and went to 
one of the principal hotels, examined the register 
and found among the recent arrivals the names of 
two valued customers from the Far West. He was 
astonished to feel a regret that they had come. He 
must be with them during the evening. They were 
more than customers, they were his friends of long 
acquaintance ; they were liberal men who loved good 
cheer, and from him they expected aid in their enjoy- 
ments ; they were convivial, especially so when they 
were in Chicago, so far away from home, and as they 
came only twice a year they expected much pleasure. 
They were heavy buyers. 

Haldon was perplexed. What should he do? He 
could not avoid a meeting. The interests of his 
house demanded that they should be properly enter- 
tained. This meant the use of wine. 

The desire for drink includes nothing of the nature 
of a habit. It is a demand of the whole being, cor- 
poreal and mental, caused by the effect of previous 
indulgence in the use of a poison, and this demand is 
graduated in strength by the volume of that previous 
indulgence ; but about the gratification of that desire 
cluster habits of life that hold the man to certain 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


77 


lines of action in all his relations to other men, and 
when suddenly compelled to different methods he 
feels himself to be a student where before he was a 
master. This applies to all social, political, pro- 
fessional and business methods, with the greater force 
upon all lines where money-getting is the absorbing 
object. 

Haldon sent his card to his customers, and after 
the usual ceremonies of greeting, an interchange of 
views upon business prospects, and comments regard- 
ing things of general interest, one of his friends 
proposed a visit to the hotel bar. At this instant 
there came upon John Haldon that inexplicable im- 
pulse towards falsehood which is experienced by every 
one who uses intoxicants ; truthfully let it be stated, 
and plainly ; an impulse to give false reasons for their 
use, and false reasons for the discontinuance of that 
use. Within these poisons is the subtle chemistry 
of lies. The plea of ill health was upon his tongue : 
“ Stop ; John Haldon is not a liar, neither is he a 
coward.” With this thought for a guide, he told 
them the exact truth — that he had drank so much 
with customers and friends that he felt an injury and 
had resolved to let it alone, for a while at least. 

He imagined a coldness in their acceptance of his 
invitation to be his guests during the evening, and 
when he met them at the appointed time his sugges- 


78 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


tions for the evening’s entertainment were received 
by them with a seeming indifference. 

The play at the theatre was dull. Where he had 
before found food for thought and inspiration for a 
spirited conversation between the acts, he now heard 
only stale dialogue and looked upon common situa- 
tions. Hoping that a supper after the theatre might 
break the restraint of the evening, he escorted his 
friends to his club and drew upon its resources for all 
which might be desirable to the taste of an epicure. 
The table conversation was spiritless. His friends 
declined wine in deference to their host, and as their 
mentalities were also dependent upon stimulants for 
ordinary action, a mental depression seized upon the 
party that made their parting a grateful relief. He 
heard tones of reproach in their “ good night,” and 
when they assured him of a business call upon the 
following day he imagined traces of sarcasm in their 
speech. 

As he passed by “ Lowman and Stone’s Place,” he 
heard the cheerful words and laughter of a rival who 
was entertaining his customers royally. He had met 
one of the giants who resist, and was not the con- 
queror. This giant came to him daily. He went to 
bed chiding himself for doing a foolish thing that 
would alienate friends and trade. He was nervous 
and sleepless. Strange tremors ran along his nerves, 
and strange pains were in his vitals. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


79 


This was only the second night. A week passed ; 
its days full of vexations which seem to have been 
sent purposely to weaken his resolution. The neces- 
sity for excuses, explanations and apologies, regard- 
ing his change of habit, annoyed him, and even the 
commendation of valued temperance friends discon- 
certed him. 

His senior partner, during a business interview, 
called his attention to the fact that a regular customer 
from Laramie had favored a rival house with a divi- 
sion of his patronage, and that latterly others did not 
seem to buy as freely as usual, and said, when speak- 
ing of the sharp competition of the times, “ We all 
should increase our vigilance, and each in his sphere 
of action use all means within reach to retain and 
extend our trade.” 

Haldon accepted all this as referring to himself, 
and that his partner considered his change of habit to 
be ill-advised and something that was likely to affect 
the interests of the firm. 

His nights had become almost sleepless and filled 
with weird imaginings. To the short intervals of 
sleep came strange dreams of calamity and fancied 
indulgence in burning wine, the odor of which on 
a sudden awakening seemed to fill the room. 

A family invitation came to attend a formal society 
reception, and he hastened to write an acceptance, 
hoping in the display of beauty and adornment to 


80 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


change the tenor of his thoughts, but the sound of 
uncorking champagne and the tinkle of glasses 
drowned the silvery laugh of women and obscured 
their charms, took his mind from the requirements of 
gallantry and obligations of fellowship, and left him 
alone in the contemplation of a desire Fair women 
offered him the coveted wine and pressed his accept- 
ance ; with discomfited manner he refused and made 
excuses for an early departure. 

His daughter Josephine, who had noticed his 
refusal, gave him a good night kiss with more than 
usual fervor. He knew her reason and was annoyed 
that he had accepted her suggestions. 

He went to bed, not to sleep, but to struggle with 
a desire that was now taking possession of every fibre 
of his being. Arguments against his resolution 
thronged his mind; repeated, became more convinc- 
ing, and discussed, became unanswerable. In the 
still hour of early morning he arose from his bed 
and went to the locker in the dining-room. It 
opened with a creak that brought pain to every nerve. 
He closed it again without partaking of its contents, 
and returned to his bed, trembling and in perspira- 
tion. Pains as of fatal diseases shot through his heart, 
his lungs and brain. Strange quivers seized his 
muscles, and strange fears, his mind. This was the 
twelfth night. 

In the morning Josephine found him at the desk 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


81 


in the library. - She had previously noticed his 
appearance, as of fatigue or depression, but now in 
the trembling form and pale face she saw cause for 
alarm. In answer to her anxious enquiries, he told 
her of his long denial of indulgence and fears that 
deprivation without tonic to sustain the normal 
condition of his system had proved to be an injury, 
and thought best to consult a physician and follow 
his advice. She suggested Dr. Davis, whose home 
was near by. 

This man was one who told what he knew to be the 
truth and regarded not popularity or income. His 
name should be endowed with immortality. Exhaust- 
ive in enquiry, and broad in his conception of conse- 
quences, with learned tongue and honest pen, he had 
told of the danger and impotency of alcohol as a 
medicine, and of its fearful ravages in mind and body 
as a beverage. Haldon, who had thought him an 
enthusiast, and prejudiced, said that a physician’s 
visit was not necessary, but that he would go to his 
business, and should he then feel a necessity, he could 
see him, or some one else, during the day. 

Interest in his correspondence and the usual morn- 
ing duties led his attention away from himself for 
a while. He also received a letter concerning Celes- 
tine’s mortgages ; all of which employed his time 
until the noon hour. With the thought of luncheon 
came a recurrence of all his desires. He had eaten 


82 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


very little for several days, and now he had no appe- 
tite. He sent a message to Dr. Mallows, who lived 
on Wentworth avenue, and who was a member of 
his club, saying that he wished to consult with him. 
The Doctor reserved for that purpose the hour of 
four that afternoon. 

At the appointed time Dr. Mallows gave him a 
graceful reception, and said : “ I am somewhat sur- 
prised, Mr. Haldon, that you should make me a visit. 

I had always looked upon you as one who would pass 
through life completely ignoring gentlemen of my 
profession ; one whose ’vigor was unassailable ; but, 
our climate! Mr. Haldon, our climate! It is at 
times what we might call — er — pugnacious, and even 
you do not seem to be altogether exempt from its 
attacks. Nothing very serious, I trust? Overwork, 
perhaps. Busy city, this.” 

“ Doctor, my condition is entirely new to my ex- 
perience. I am unable to sleep soundly and have 
strange feelings of dread, as if something terrible was 
imminent ; nervous tremblings in the night ; also, 
during the day.” 

‘Accompanying pains in any part of your body, 
Mr. Haldon?” 

“ Pains everywhere, only transient, locally, but 
which seem to be transferred suddenly from one organ 
to another, and are constantly felt in some part of 
the body.” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


83 


“What is the sensation produced by them — er — 
nausea, and occasional flushings ? ” 

“ Flushings frequently, and a tendency of the blood 
to the head. No nausea, but no desire for food; 
when I see or think about it, I am impressed with a 
feeling that I shall never require any more. A 
peculiar sensation, or rather a series of sensations, 
possess me as the pains locate.. In whichever organ 
they appear, I cannot resist the belief that the most 
dreaded disease to which that organ is subject has 
begun its ravages ; if in the lungs, pneumonia ; if in 
the stomach, cancer.” 

“Nervous! nervous! Mr. Haldon, and perhaps 
somewhat climatic; possibly, a slight indication of 
malaria. May I ask you regarding your previous 
habits of — er — labor, sleep, diet, and so forth?” 

“ Regular in every respect, except perhaps a little 
excessive in business attention, but not more so than 
my unusual powers of endurance would warrant. I 
have used liquors during the whole of my mercantile 
life, not, as I believe, to excess, but freely, and have 
recently abstained. Two weeks have elapsed since 
my last indulgence.” 

“That is just the trouble with you, Mr. Haldon. 
One should never be too impetuous in the discon- 
tinuance of any habit, more especially one of long 
indulgence, and which has become necessary to the 
proper action of the physical organs. Should you 


84 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


wish to abstain wholly, which I do not consider 
necessary or even advisable for a man of your age, 
the indulgence should be graduated so that the dif- 
ferent organs receiving sustenance might become 
accustomed to the deprivation without injury. Alco- 
hol — the materia medica classes all wines, liquors, 
cordials, and so forth, as alcohol — delays the disin- 
tegration of the tissues and strengthens their capa- 
bilities for the resistance of waste ; this aid suddenly 
removed causes a breaking down, as it were, of these 
tissues, and usually precipitates a disaster to some 
one of the many organs requiring its support. This 
fact is proved by the wandering pains that you have 
experienced in the different organs, which are caused 
by the effort of disease, climatic or otherwise, to effect 
a lodgment, but was resisted. Had you been less 
vigorous, the consequences might have been serious.” 

“Your advice would be to ‘leave off’ gradually, by 
using a less quantity daily ? ” 

“If you intended to discontinue its use wholly, 
Mr. Haldon, yes; but from a medical standpoint, we 
should question the advisability of — er — total abstin- 
ence. For a man of your age we should hardly 
advise it. Your indulgence is a habit of long con- 
tinuance, and, Mr. Haldon, a diagnosis of our climate 
indicates stimulant ; it is almost irresistible in its 
deleterious effects without the help of something to 
generate warmth. We eat oleagineous foods which 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


85 


aid, but the extreme variation, especially from heat 
to cold, seems to compel the use of alcohol in some 
form. The bracing atmosphere from the lake miti- 
gates whatever adverse physical effects may be 
noticed from over-indulgence, which helps to prove 
our proposition, that a reasonable use is of positive 
benefit, and that the climate requires it, especially so 
from middle age to senility.” 

“Well, Doctor, I shall be governed by your 
decision, as my present condition is simply intolerable, 
and I would ask your judgment regarding future 
indulgence.” 

“ Mr. Haldon, we will first hand to you a formula 
of sedative action that will induce sleep. Take as 
directed. If you have used whiskies and that class 
of liquors, we would advise a change ; use wines ; 
claret at your meals would be our selection; the 
others, should you feel a need in the interim, as your 
own good judgment would dictate. A little good 
brandy occasionally, during the extremes of cold, will 
not harm ; and, by the way, in the state that we at 
present find your nerves, would suggest that you 
take a fair drink of brandy now, or soon, and another 
as you retire. You will find yourself quite yourself 
again in the morning. We will see you at the Club, 
no doubt, within a day or two, wondering why 
doctors are necessary.” 

In every city and in almost every village or town 


86 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


in this land, are physicians who argue and advise as 
did Dr. Mallows. They should be gathered upon 
the shore of a stagnant lake in some deep morass, 
and, not hung or shot, or burned at the stake, but 
put into a crate, as is the custom in city pounds, and 
sunk to the bottom of its noxious slime. 

As Haldon stepped into his carriage he directed the 
driver to stop at “Lowman and Stone's Place.” He 
remembered that Lowman had sent word to his part- 
ner, Stetson, that he had received some of that very 
old and very fine Cognac brandy. As he anticipated 
his coming pleasure in tasting, its pungent and grate- 
ful odor seemed to fill the carriage and intoxicate his 
thoughts. The setting sun appeared to laugh and 
bless the world with a benign good night. Every man 
whom he met was driving steeds of air, and every 
womans face was wreathed in the smiles of a seraph; 
and on every side were palaces where before were 
houses. As he came towards the centre of the city, 
streets broadened, sidewalks were thronged with 
joyous multitudes, and happiness beamed everywhere. 

Arriving at “ Lowman and Stone’s Place” he went 
hastily to the bar and asked for the best brandy. As 
he poured it out his hand held the glass as in a vise ; 
his eyes drank deeply in anticipation, and he raised 
it to his lips with the greediness of that terrible 
power, which is not a thirst, but an irresistible desire, 
that overwhelms and impels to its gratification as the 
combined impulse of a Christian to his God and a 
bridegroom to his bride. 


CHAPTER VI. 


Take heed ! A wreck is on the inner reef, 
Hurd by the harbor’s channel. 



MONG merchants of 
liberal education 
and comprehen- 
sive views, friend- 
ships of a close 
and often confi- 
dential nature are 
not uncommon ; 
this also among - 

c> 

those whose busi- 
ness interests are 
in direct compe- 
tition. Affairs, 
even of a personal character, are discussed, and ad- 
vice and information of delicate moment given freely 
and with confident completeness. 

Haldon’s genial nature had secured for him uni- 
versal friendship, notably among men in his own line 
of trade, who held him in honorable regard. This 
was especially true of one who was several years his 
junior and whom it had been his pleasure to assist 


88 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


at a time of business peril. This gentleman was a 
member of a club to which Leslie Montford had been 
admitted soon after his return from college. To this 
friend Haldon directed the inquiry promised Josephine 
regarding the character and tendency of Montfords 
associations with men. 

Among the inconsistencies of thought is one that 
no philosopher comprehends. Specific acts and in- 
clinations of others are condemned, or made the 
subject of adverse criticism, but accomplished by or 
found in ourselves become of light account or even 
commendable. We feel exempted from the laws of 
consequence, 

In this manner Haldon now considered the ques- 
tion of indulgence in liquors. He excused it in him- 
self, but if found in Montford he would abhor it, and 
place every bar in his power against his union with 
Josephine. 

His inquiries were searching and exhaustive; so 
much so, that his friend divined the real object, al- 
though he was not otherwise informed. His friend, 
who had associated with Montford for several years, 
said that he had never known him to taste wine at 
the Club, or in social circles, but had never heard him 
express any sentiment relating to it, and did not 
know what views he held regarding its use. He also 
said that Montfords relations with men were honor- 
able and above reproach. With this Haldon was 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


89 


not entirely satisfied. He wished to hear that Mont- 
ford was almost fanatical against its use, and was so 
grounded in his principles that he would not taste it, 
except to save life, if that were possible. 

He informed Josephine of the result of his enqui- 
ries, saying that Montford did not use the “thing with 
many names,” and gave his authority, but added that 
he appeared to have no convictions for or against its 
use, and said that there was only one young man in 
all their acquaintance who she could be perfectly 
sure would never taste it, and that one was Dr. 
Horace Morton. 

Color came to Josephine’s face upon the mention 
of this name. His parents lived only a block away ; 
he was her classmate in girlhood, and the only one 
who had kept pace with her advancement. She had 
corresponded with him during his collegiate course ; 
had taken great interest in his ambitions and cheered 
him when beginning the work of his profession in 
their own neighborhood. She had been much in his 
society and revered the good woman whom he called 
mother. Her own mother had not encouraged 
closer relations, and she did not consider her regard 
for him to be inspired by love, but by an admiration 
for his strength of mind and purpose. 

Leslie Montford proposed, was accepted, and with 
Josephine Haldon entered upon that mysterious 
beatitude called love, which is supposed, in its first 


90 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


stages, to bring unity of thought and purpose, and 
in the later, unity of soul. 

Congratulations to Josephine upon her engage- 
ment were many and sincere, but she felt a need of 
sympathy. One day, amid the beaming pleasure and 
joyful words of several school companions, a thought 
came to her with the force of a conviction. “These 
girls should reserve their congratulations until we are 
old women.” The thought lingered and made sug- 
gestions. * 

Every good woman of social and intellectual rank 
holds a life friendship and interest in some other 
woman who, through misfortune or misjudgment, 
occupies a sphere beneath her capabilities. She 
may have been a schoolmate, or may be the 
daughter of a neighbor ; perhaps, a sister, who has 
been stranded upon the rocks of social disaster, and, 
whether by her own fault or by that of others, she 
wraps around her the mantle of consolation. 

The teacher of her earlier years, now Helen 
Temple, had need of, and received Josephine’s sym- 
pathy and cheer, and, as in childhood, her confidences, 
She yet called her Miss Helen. Helen Temple’s 
marriage had promised affluence, comfort and happi- 
ness. Her young husband had acquired an interest 
in the factory where he had been long employed, but 
with plenty came a change. A habit that to this 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 91 

time had received occasional gratification, became a 
daily indulgence. Absence from duty and careless 
supervision exasperated his partners, who absorbed 
his interest but gave him a place to work. His skill 
diminishing, lower duties were assigned to him, and 
now the thick black smoke from the chimneys of the 
mill that might have been his settled around a lowly 
cottage by its side. A cultured girl had taken his 
hand ; he had led her to its door and put the chill of 
its poverty around her. Her love for Henry, her 
boy of ten, and the friendship of Josephine Haldon 
were all the higher pleasures that life gave to her. 
This was much ; but much was denied. 

Soon after her engagement Josephine went to 
Helen Temple and showed her the glittering ring 
upon her finger. Helen looked at her in silence. 

“ Miss Helen, are there no pleasant words for me, 
no wishes for happiness ? Speak to me.” 

“ Josephine, this brings to me a fear.” 

il I will not forsake you, Miss Helen. I will see 
you more after I — afterwards, than I do now.” 

“ My thought is not for myself, Josephine, not for 
myself ; but I should not throw gloom upon your 
life. I do wish you happiness, joy, and every good 
thing the world can bring to you ; and that these 
may be with you to the end.” 

“ To the end ! ” Josephine repeated. “This is only 


92 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


the beginning. I wish that I might look upon all 
to-day.” 

“No, Josephine, do not ask this. If we could see 
to the end, many would take the life God gave them. 
If only one thing was removed from the world a joy- 
ful ending would be almost assured, and the best 
wish that one woman can give to another I give to 
you — may your husband never take alcoholic drinks.” 

“Miss Helen, I know the value of that wish, and 
have seen the ravages made in a mind that I love.” 

“Josephine, you have seen little of what might 
be. Your father is not what he would have been in 
his appreciation of elevated thought and the better 
aspirations of life, but his impulses are those of a 
gentleman. He has brought upon you neither pov- 
erty nor shame ; only heart-aches, and regrets for loss 
of companionship. If you wish to hear the story of 
unmitigated misery, ask the educated wife of some 
man whom drink has brutalized, to tell it. 

“Ask her to tell you how sweet flowers of anticipa- 
tion carpeted her steps to the altar ; how she took 
into her being another soul, and garnished it with 
beauties from her own ; how the ecstatic joys of wife- 
hood expanded her heart, and furnished within it 
chambers for cherub guests ; how celestial attendants 
came to the mothers couch and whispered words of 
love and hope, and gave her reverence ; as their God 
had created so had she given life ; revealed to her 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


93 


the joyful unity of the glorious earthly trinity of love — 
husband, wife and child — and showed to her an illum- 
inated pathway through a world of pleasant scenes 
to their home above. Then ask her to tell you why, 
when only a short journey on that pathway, her foot- 
steps became heavy and the pleasant scenery was 
obscured by tears. 

“She will tell you that her husband went into 
by-paths and drank from noxious pools whose waters 
degrade ; that they first deprived her of his encour- 
agement, then of his sympathy ; next of his considera- 
tion for her mental needs and physical necessities ; 
further on came upbraidings and false accusations ; 
he pierced her heart with contempt, threw all of his 
burdens upon her shoulders, and goaded her to unac- 
customed tasks ; turned aside to the thickets of immo- 
rality and wrapped her womanhood in shame ; struck 
her with the hand that should protect ; took their 
earnings and threw them into the stony fields of 
poverty ; lay down by the wayside in drunkenness, 
and brought upon her and her child the ridicule of 
decency.” 

Josephine Haldon held in her arms a form that 
trembled with the emotions of despair. There was 
nothing to soothe but silence. Helen Temple hid 
away her sight from the things around her amid the 
enfolding love which softened the anguish caused by 
reality and the thought of what should have been. 


94 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


What should have been ! As the famished traveler 
on the desert, she saw fields of pleasure and limpid 
streams of happiness. To Josephine, the mists of 
romance were rising, and the world of fact was spread- 
ing out before her with all its ghastly possibilities. 

“ Mother, you said when I got a place you wouldn’t 
be sorry any more; now I’ve got it and am caring 
for you, what makes you cry so? Miss Josephine, 
what have you said to her? You musn’t say any- 
thing. It’s bad enough now, and we want to be 
happy again.’* 

The time had passed unnoticed and the boy had 
come in unobserved. 

“ Henry, Miss Josephine cheers us and never 
brings sorrow.” 

“ Then why do you feel so badly when she is here ? 
I always feel better when she talks to me, and I’d be 
just happy now if you wasn’t so sorrowful. Mr. 
Montford, that’s Mr. Leslie’s father — that’s where I 
work, Miss Josephine — told me to-day that I was an 
extraordinary — ex-tra-or-di-nary, yes that’s it — good 
boy, just because I asked him if there wasn’t some- 
thing else I could do for him, when I’d just got back 
from an errand. That wasn’t so very much, was it, 
mother? ’cause I thought you wouldn’t like it if I 
should go and earn money, and didn’t keep busy ; but 
I think he likes me anyway, ’cause if he didn’t he’d 
just have said yes or no. And he talks to me about 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


95 


the business, and tells me how to do my part the same 
as he does with the men in the office.” 

“You are a good boy. He likes you and wishes 
you to learn,” said Josephine. 

li And Mr. Leslie, he helps me, too, and says if I do 
right, and learn everything I can, some time I will get 
a place where I will get a big lot of money, and I 
hope I can, ’cause then mother can have nice things, 
and we will be happy, won’t we, mother ?” 

Mother could not reply and the boy chattered on. 

“ And then I can have nice things like Mr. Leslie 
does, nice horses to drive and go out riding with. I 
saw you riding with him last week, Miss Josephine. 
He don’t have to take his mother out, ’cause Mr. 
Montford rides out with her every afternoon, when 
it don’t rain ; and Mr. Leslie can take you as well as 
not. I’d take mother, ’cause — ’cause — He’s got nice 
guns, too, and goes hunting. He, and Mr. Horton, 
and Mr. Rayton, went down to Kankakee once, and 
they brought home such a lot of ducks — Mallard 
ducks they said they was ; the best kind ; and they said 
Mr. Leslie shot the most. I don’t believe I’ll ever 
learn to go hunting, ’cause I’ll have to work and won’t 
have time, but I guess I can go a-fishing sometimes, 
’cause I learned that down at Aunt Martha’s last 
summer; she lives in Aurora. Mr. Leslie’s going 
fishino- up in Wisconsin pretty soon. He’s got such 
nice fish poles with little wheels on them ; them’s 


96 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


reels ; and they pull the fish in by winding them up. 
I should think it would be easier just to lift them out 
with the pole and throw the fish over behind you ; 
that’s the way I did. I caught ten in just a little 
while. May be they get bigger ones. You won’t 
go out riding with him next week, Miss Josephine, 
’cause he’s going to be gone ten days ; I heard him 
tell Mr. Montford so to-day — and they’s several 
gentlemen going, and they are going to camp. What’s 
that, Miss Josephine?” 

“That means, they will take a tent and put it in 
a grove near some stream or lake, and eat and sleep 
in that ; not at a hotel.” 

<f That’s nice, and they’re going to camp, and now 
I know they’re going to eat in the tent, ’cause Mr. 
Leslie had such a lot of things sent to the store, 
most all of it in cans ; some wasn’t. He had a funny- 
looking basket ; I thought it was to bring fish home 
in. It was a willow basket, and had such funny 
colors and stripes all around it, and on the cover it 
said ‘ Cli-quot.’ The porter was packing everything 
in a big box, and I asked him what Cli-quot meant, 
and he said it was sham-pain. Ain’t that funny ? I 
guess the porter was joking me ; but I can’t see what 
it was about. Why, Miss Josephine, what’s the 
matter ? You’re just as white ” 

Set lines as of approaching age crept around her 
mouth and about her eyes, her arm went out from 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


97 


its side and put the hand upon the air, and the fingers 
wandered in helpless tremors, seeking support. 

Helen Temple stood before her. The tears were 
gone and the anguish stilled. 

“Josephine! Josephine Haldon ! Arouse yourself 
and think, and hear me tell you that if he is thus, 
never go through your life with him. Better to tear 
the love from your heart and give it to the flowers 
that poison and the weeds that flourish ; to take his 
picture from among your treasures and put in its 
place that of a coiling serpent ; to turn your face away 
from the world and all of its beauties, build you a 
hut in a churchyard and commune with the dead, 
than to be in the arms of one whose soul is dying, 
day by day.’* 


CHAPTER VII. 


Integrity is a trusty foil 

That wards the thrusts of unseen blades. 



ELESTINE Fol- 
som reclined on the 
crimson lounge, 
fully dressed to en- 
tertain expected 
company. She had 
received a note 
from John Haldon, 
saying that he 
would call upon her 
early in the evening 
with information regarding her mortgages. She had 
spent much of the afternoon in the arrangement of 
her toilet, and during the remaining time she was 
turning the leaves of different books lying upon the 
table, and transcribing couplets, quotations of rounded 
period and bright sayings, from them to neat slips of 
paper. After she had gathered a sufficient quantity, 
she wrote on other slips ; transposing the authors’ 
words into language and constructions of her own, 
and contemplated them. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


99 


Her dress was the color of Australian gold, and 
had the appearance of being embossed with golden 
vines, leaves, and flowers of other shades. It was 
cut high around her neck, and close over her shoulders, 
bust, and long shapely waist. The skirt, which 
opened to the feet, showed a petticoat beneath, em- 
bellished by an artistic hand with autumn leaves, 
rare blendings of their more modest tints. Within 
the open sleeves was the same effect in spangles of 
autumn ferns and grasses, on dainty lace clasped to 
the wrist by slender golden lizards with eyes of gar- 
net. Garnet eyes were in the golden dove that held 
the laces at her throat, and its mate was among the 
waves of fine brown hair that rippled back from her 
forehead and splashed about her ears and neck. At 
her left side, an embroidered sachet of censer shape 
was suspended by a silken rope looped about her 
waist, and as she stood before the pier glass and 
slowly swung it sidewise, back and forth, the reflected 
eyes and smile approved the perfection of form, pose, 
and drapery. 

As Haldon entered the room he was aware of 
another sensation that requires a philosopher’s aid to 
analyze. The things that before obtruded, had 
retired, and he looked only upon the tinted beauty of 
face and drapery before him. He knew that Celes- 
tine would sit upon one end of the crimson lounge 
and rest her arm upon its scroll ; she did push the 


100 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


easy chair with cushioned arms before it for his use, 
and seat herself opposite, the light from the gas jets 
over his shoulder falling full upon her. With a 
startling impression that the scene had somewhere 
presented itself to him before, he looked upon the 
blended beauties, then to the wall above, as if to see 
why the painting had dropped from its place and 
become entangled in the laces, silks and furniture 
below. 

Holding the silken rope in her hand, she rolled the 
censer sachet to and fro across her lap, and with the 
deep, dark eyes that saw but did not reveal, she 
studied the effect of her attractions upon Haldon. 
What she saw was quiet admiration only, and with a 
tinge of impatience she mentioned the mortgages. 

“You were so long getting information, Mr. 
Haldon ! I was almost in despair that I should never 
see you again. I almost expected that you would 
come a few evenings after your first visit and let me 
know what you had done. I looked for you so 
often.” 

“I had not thought, Miss Folsom, that this was 
necessary until something of a satisfactory nature 
was ascertained.” 

“ Mr. Haldon, men always look upon the business 
side of everything : 

4 Dollars and cents get into their minds, 

And the dollars never get out/ 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS, 


101 


Could you not have thought that I would be pleased 
to talk with you, even upon other subjects, or 
rather listen to you? Your visit was an oasis in 
the desert of my loneliness, and I am impatient with 
you, because, 

* Deprived of its verdure of mind, 

The landscape is solemn and drear? 

I know that none other can feel the comfort and hap- 
piness that even a short visit, from one that is 
appreciated, will give to a woman who is deprived of 
congenial company.” 

“ Miss Folsom, I did not presume to think that I 
was of any interest to you whatever, except to aid 
you in your affairs.” 

“ My father used to call me Celestine, and I don’t 
think it would be any harm for you to call me Miss 
Celestine, at least. 

* W ords we are used to hear 
Are grateful to the ear, 

And soothe and captivate? 

I believe that I am entitled to all the pleasure words 
can give me, especially when they harm no one.” 

“ Miss Celestine, I certainly would not deprive 
you of that pleasure. I have always thought of you 
as Celestine, since as a school girl I met you on the 
train. It is a beautiful name.” 

“Now, Mr. Haldon, if you think it so beautiful 
how can you bear to spoil it by putting on a Miss ? I 


J02 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


would like it, and you, all the better if you said, just 
‘Celestine.’ ” 

Haldon hesitated, felt an inability to make a suita- 
ble reply, and opened the letter from his friend 
referring to the mortgages. 

Celestine changed her position to one of half 
reclining, and adjusted herself to listen to its import. 
It said that foreclosure was the only course to pursue 
in the interest of the mortgagee ; several worthy 
families would be oppressed ; but such things were not 
usually considered. Celestine interrupted, and said, 
“The money means my very existence; they cannot 
be reduced to that.” Haldon discussed this feature 
of the case quite at length and with the usual business 
conclusions. The friend advised that they all be sent 
to a young lawyer, a personal friend, for whose relia- 
bility he would vouch ; and that immediate action be 
taken thereon. 

“ O, Mr. Haldon ! that means a year. What will 
I do ? If I only knew somebody who would advance 
me enough to meet my expenses.” 

Her smile was driven away by distress. 

Good men may get themselves into more trouble 
through generosity than bad men do through knavery, 
and John Haldon opened the door to his by saying: 

“Celestine, I can relieve your anxiety. You may 
assign them to me and I will advance to your needs as 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


103 


occasion requires. Upon their payment you can 
remunerate me.” 

Celestine rose to her feet ; placed her hand on his 
as it lay on the cushioned arm of the chair ; and, as 
once before, the form and drapery seemed about to 
enfold him ; the confiding smile had lost its frank- 
ness and flashed in bewildering suggestions, but 
innocence was still in the soft brown eyes. She partly 
raised his hand, and stooping placed a kiss upon it. 
He felt her warm breath stealing around his wrist 
and upon his arm ; as she bent forward the censer 
sachet rolled around the end of the cushioned arm • 
of his chair and fell upon his lap, and around his 
knee came a glittering maze of autumn leaves. He 
raised his eyes to her face ; his gaze lingered upon 
the full red lips pressed to his hand ; on the pink 
cheek, and on the delicate ear ; wandered among the 
ripples of her hair, and dwelt upon the outlines of 
her enticing form ; beyond it, his sight fell upon the 
pier glass, and there, far back in its mirrored depths, 
the flickering lights from the grate fire pictured the 
pure face of Josephine Haldon. 

He took Celestine’s hand in his and led her to her 
seat on the lounge ; walked away from her and away 
from the pier glass; down the room towards the 
entrance door ; turned, and while walking, talked of 
her mortgages ; of the details relating to their col- 
lection ; of her probable needs in the meantime ; of 


104 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


her musical studies and their requirements ; and hur- 
riedly accorded the usual courtesies preceding- a 
departure. He forgot about the certificate of stock 
in the “ Silver Star ” mine, and Celestine did not 
mention it. 

As he went out and down the street a full moon 
threw its light upon the side on which he walked. 
In the shadows of the other side the Professor was 
going towards his rooms. He had seen Haldon 
come from the house opposite ; stopped and looked 
at him as he walked away, then turned and walked 
on. As he placed his foot on. the first one of the 
steps leading to the sidewalk, he again looked down 
the street at Haldon ; presently went up the steps to 
the landing, turned about and looked at the shaded 
light in the second story opposite, then down the 
street ; again upon the light, and again upon the 
street ; swung his bunch of keys reflectively, opened 
the night latch and passed in. 

Early the next day he sought Lowman, and eagerly 
related to him the incident of the night before. Low- 
man listened to him, but soon, with a gesture of 
impatience, interrupted : 

“Now look here, Professor, what’s that got to do 
with you or what you want? As I understand it, 
all you’re after is to find him, or his friends — it don’t 
make any matter which — when they are full and 
ready for anything, and get into play with ’em, and 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


105 


of course pick up whatever you can get ; or if you 
can get ’em into any side speculations that will pay, 
that’s all right, but you want to keep in with ’em as 
a gentleman should, and not go to doing things that 
will get ’em disgusted with you and make ’em think 
you’re a flat. They’ll throw you right overboard. 
You go to getting your fingers into their private 
affairs, they’ll have nothing more to do with you ; 
besides, you might get hurt. Now, it ain’t a-going 
to be a great while before he’ll be in shape so you 
can handle him, and when he does, you want to get 
out with him ; and sometimes, if you can, when they’s 
none of them country people along, but just him and 
one or two of the city crowd. He’s drinking a lot 
of stuff now that’ll get him in good shape for any- 
thing, mighty quick. I guess he’s been around some 
doctor. If they’d come to me and pay me according 
to the value of the advice I’d give, ’twould make me 
rich and I’d retire from the whisky business.” 

“Well, ‘ Dr. Lowman,’ what should you advise 
that would be so valuable ? ” asked the Professor. 

“ Drink water.” 

“ That would spoil your trade.” 

“ What would I care if I had all the money that 
advice is worth? and besides, I’d like to see the world 
once when half of it wasn’t crazy drunk, and see how 
’twould seem.” 

“ What I cannot understand,” said the Professor, 


106 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“ is why such men as he, who have will and deter- 
mination to do anything they set out to, never just 
say, Stop ! and make an end of it.” 

“ Professor, that’s where you’re in the same haze 
that most folks get into. I’ve noticed, when a man 
quits for good, it’s generally the weakest ones that 
give in to what somebody else wants ’em to do. You 
don’t seem to understand that whisky changes a man 
all around, and that if he’s got a strong will he’ll be 
only the more determined to get what he wants, and 
all his will goes to getting whisky, instead of getting 
rid of it. Some folks think whisky destroys a man’s 
will, but that’s all nonsense. It just destroys his 
sense, and his will goes swimming in whisky ; but 
this kind of speculating ain’t going to pay us. You 
come around here evenings, regular, and something 
will turn up pretty soon to your advantage. I’ve got 
to go to work and can’t talk any more, but you do 
just as I say and things will be all right.” 

The Professor went away feeling like a silent part- 
ner in a fishing interest equipped with only one line, 
but he still had ideas of his own as to how the 
business should be conducted. 

# # 

* 

If a man eats, he satisfies his hunger; when he is 
sick and takes medicine that improves his condition ; 
he has no thought of unlimited doses ; but when he 
drinks alcohol, in any of its many forms, he desires 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


107 


a repetition. To this, as in the case of all rules of 
general application, there is one exception. With 
some constitutions, a moderate quantity of wine or 
ale taken during a meal — and only then — produces 
no after desire. The satisfaction of hunger over- 
comes the effect of the drink, and its noxious action 
is partially expended upon the food. In all other 
cases, under all circumstances, and with all men, the 
rule governs with omnipotent inflexibility. In the 
beginner, this is a tendency ; in the moderate and 
occasional drinker, a positive inclination ; and in the 
daily imbiber, an overwhelming desire, that regards 
not health nor intellect, neighbor nor society, friends 
nor family, and the man lives not who can truthfully 
claim exemption from this rule, either in the begin- 
ning, the continuance, or the degraded climax. 

John Haldon was nearing the end. As the 
regime advised by Dr. Mallows was too weak to 
satisfy the ever-increasing desire for more, his allow- 
ance of wine decreased and of brandy increased. 
“ Brandy,” the bar-keeper said, “is a good drink, but 
a man should not take it regular ; it’s too heating. I 
find for myself, that nothing fills the bill so well as 
good old whisky,” and to any mind clouded with 
the fumes of either, a bar-keeper’s advice is as good 
as a doctor’s, and sometimes better, for the bar-keeper, 
not the proprietor, has been known to advise a 
trembling customer to “let it entirely alone.’” 


108 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Haldon gradually fell back into his former habits 
with a noticeable increase of indulgence. His hours 
were again too short for his business requirements, 
and Celestine’s affairs had become a task to him. As 
he had proffered advice and assistance unsolicited, he 
felt an obligation to continue his care for her interests 
until the time that she might realize from her effects. 
Correspondence with the young lawyer, in whose 
hands her mortgages had been placed, made frequent 
conferences with her a necessity, and he had spent 
several evenings in her parlor. He had always found 
her attired with the same care as. at first, and always 
with the same tendency to lead the conversation away 
from the consideration of business. He was not 
displeased with her solicitude for his comfort, or with 
her efforts to please him, but often thought, after 
leaving, that he would have a higher regard for her if 
she was not so confiding or so thankful for his interest 
in her welfare. Her gratitude for his company and 
subtle praise of his intellectual and personal qualities, 
flattered the vanity that is ingrained in all men, and 
caused him to patronize while he did not approve, 
and he sometimes found himself in her company 
because it would please her. 

Some months after Lowman’s last lesson to the 
Professor, upon a pleasant moonlight evening, a bar- 
keeper noticed that a party in one of the private 
rooms of “ Lowman and Stones Place” was unusually 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


109 


hilarious, and went to the office and held a short con- 
ference with Lowman. What he said was received 
with evident satisfaction. Lowman wrote a note 
and rang for a messenger, giving him an extra coin 
to encourage unusual speed. With evidence of haste 
the Professor soon appeared and asked Lowman the 
reason for such a hurry, so early in the evening, and 
he had no dinner yet 

“ Professor, you never mind your dinner. You’ll 
get enough to eat before the night is out. Haldon 
and two of his city friends are in one of the rooms and 
having a big time. Bar-keeper heard ’em say they’d 
been to the ‘ Tremont ’ and give some of their western 
customers a big dinner and a good send-off for home, 
and they left on the six o’clock express. You see 
they’ve got started and haven’t got enough, and come 
around here to wind up. Three ain’t a full party for 
them people, they always like four, and I want you to 
get in before some other friend of theirs comes along. 
That’s what the hurry is about. Now, Professor, 
you’ve got to drink some to-night ; that excuse of 
yours won’t always go down. While you’re here, bar- 
keeper will fix it all right so your drinks are light, 
and if you go anywhere else you will have to look 
out for yourself — spill part of it, or something. I’ll 
tell you, take gin, and you can drink the water instead 
of the gin and they won’t notice it. I’ll go in and fix 
things, so that you can get in with ’em without they’re 


110 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


thinking anything’s done a purpose.” In a short time 
Ware was one of a party of whom the rest were gen- 
tlemen, and they supposed that he was. 

If any one should here be impressed with a sus- 
picion that this is a manufactured situation, and that 
the writer has drawn upon his imagination for mate- 
rial, let him interview any honest gentleman who is an- 
habitual drinker at bars and he will say that its dupli- 
cate, in multiples, can be found in any city, village, 
or settlement, where liquor is sold over the bar. 

Ware brought a clear brain in contact with those of 
a higher order, but injured by the blows of the brain’s 
worst enemy. He was in a condition to observe and 
profit thereby ; in a position to direct movements, 
and they, in a state that consents to environment. He 
noted the characteristic action of each one and 
studied to adjust himself in proper equilibrium. Hal- 
don was frank, genial, and inclined to intellectual 
exuberance. The Drygoods-man was nervous and 
hasty in speech. The Clothing-man was jolly, robust 
in laughter; and in action, inclined to imprudence. 
Were they sober, Ware was out of his class ; as they 
were, they could not be classified. ^ 

In the course of a game of cards, Ware suggested 
an increased value of counters and limit. The 
Clothing-man urged it, laughed immoderately, and 
called for a bottle of champagne when he reaped the 
first benefit. The Drygoods-man said that he did 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Ill 


not want champagne; the “usual thing” was good 
enough. The “usual thing” was agreed upon, and 
the bar-keeper brought it to them on a silver tray, 
passed it first to Ware, indicating with his thumb 
which glass he should take, then served the others. 
The game passed on with play that would have 
alarmed their sober judgment, but which was now 
unnoticed. 

From time to time Lowman was called upon for 
cash on bank checks, and the time between the call 
for drinks grew shorter. Presently the Drygoods- 
man said : 

“ I do not know who is winning, but do know that 
I am losing all the time, and I propose that we take 
a ride and play afterwards, if we wish to.” 

Ware said that he never had been around Chicago * 
much, and would like to do so, and asked if they 
were acquainted everywhere. The Clothing-man 
laughed derisively and said that he would like to see 
the square acre that he had not been all over. 
Haldon said that he would ride if they wished. 
Ware noticed that he was becoming dull in appear- 
ance, and talked but little. 

Upon their order for a carriage, Lowman said that 
he had sent a messenger for Tom. Tom was a hack- 
man who knew every business, professional and 
official man in the city, but who, should you ask him 
if he took Judge Portly home from court that after- 


112 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


noon would say: “ Judge Portly? Don’t believe I 
know him; what sort of a looking- man is he?” 

Tom stood by the door of the carriage, and as he 

closed it upon the party he said to the Clothing-man, 

“As usual?” The Clothing-man nodded and he 

drove them away. # * 

# 

A magnificent suite of rooms with tapestry carpets 
and gorgeous furnishings ; paintings from the brush 
of genius, and sculpture from the chisel of inspira- 
tion ; over all, a soft incandescent light ; quiet, almost 
noiseless, except one sound — the music of ivory 
counters ; a music that enchants the banker, who 
empties his vaults to hear its siren notes ; that soothes 
the merchant, who gives his capital for its melody ; 
that entices the working-man, who gives the sus- 
tenance of his family for its fascinations ; and side by 
side they sit around its sounding-board and help to 
swell its volume. Alcohol in a profusion of forms 
upon the mahogany side-board in an alcove shuts 
from the ear its jarring notes or opens to its harmony. 
Those who tarry long are dragged away by the hand 
of penury and the music sounds for other ears. They 
are in the home of that Lorelei of fortune — Faro. 

They did not come to hear her music, but to see 
her abode. They partook of her solace and drove 
away — drove through the bright moonlight, up State 
street, to the place of deeper sinfulness. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 113 

A great red light shines over a door. Somebody’s 
sister, and, God help ! some woman’s daughter is 
dying there the death ofdeaths, and her only medicine 
is alcohol. We cannot enter. 

Long rows of saloons ; painted faces and gaudy 
dresses flitting in and out, that sometimes stop and 
talk to unsteady forms, with mingled ribaldry and 
curses, and then hail the party of respectability with 
loathsome words. Strains of music from a basement, 
a huge cave, under-ground. A gaudy stage opposite 
the entrance ; elevated stalls with cloth curtains cov- 
ered with lace, along the sides ; narrow tables flanked 
by heavy chairs cover the room from door to stage ; 
a bar near the entrance ; one on the right side under 
the stalls ; one on the left side ; in the den behind 
the stage, another. For these- a license is nailed to 
the wall, signed by men who pray to God to keep 
their own sons away from temptation and their own 
daughters from evil. 

Thick clouds of smoke from a thousand cigars and 
cigarettes rise to the ceiling and are drawn out 
through the long narrow sidewalk windows in heavy 
curving streams. The floor is damp from dribblings 
of beer, wine and whisky, and a hundred gas jets 
light the scene. The usher is affable to the party of 
respectability and makes a place for convenient obser- 
vation and enjoyment. Other parties of respectability 


114 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


are grouped about other tables, and their nods are 
answered by recognition, half ashamed. 

The room is densely filled with men ; the young 
man, he of the cigarette ; the middle aged and the 
gray haired. To the enticements of drink are added 
the blandishments of women ; the more attractive 
attend the more respectable, and with smiles and 
familiarities they persuade to excess. A part of the 
profit from the sale of wine, beer and whisky is 
theirs. 

A scene opens on the stage. Attractive forms with 
suggestive tongues flit back and forth in dance and 
dialogue. Men shout and clap their hands to honor 
stars of indelicate accomplishments, who afterwards 
come to the stalls, in paint and tinsel, to extend 
acquaintance. 

The Clothing- man said, “ Let’s go behind the 
scenes.” 

The Dry-goods man was willing, but said, “ They 
are a contemptible lot, who ought to be drowned.” 
Haldon and Ware followed. 

Fathers, hold fast to your sons ; and mothers, put 
your arms around your daughters to keep them from 
such as this. He of the cigarette was there, and she of 
the indelicate accomplishments, with the flush of youth 
still upon their faces, and around them both was the 
aroma of the wine glass. A father’s watchfulness 
had not availed to keep the son from the line of bars 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


115 


that he had helped to erect on every street ; a mother 
had allowed her daughter to cheer his visits with 
wine, and they were here — here, where the goodness 
of women is not and the decency of men never 
comes. Immodesty walks with ribaldry and shame 
sits by the side of drunkenness. 

These are called Concert Rooms and Varieties. 
Satan is astonished when a new license is nailed to 
the wall. 

The air was heavy with rank perfume and the odor 
of liquors. Haldon went into the audience room, 
rested his arm upon the corner of the bar and looked 
upon the stage. 

The illusions of alcohol had entered his brain and 
bewildered his sight. The stage seemed afar off, 
the glittering entrance to a funnel, and about it dwarf 
figures made motions in the air. Where the audience 
was, he saw dead men, and the smoke above them 
was the blackness of a pall. The usher called his 
friends, who tried to arouse him, but he was oblivious 
to their efforts. He did not reel and they were 
astonished that he did not know them. 

The Drygoods-man said, “We must get him right 
home,” but the Clothing-man said, “ Any other place 
but that. Never take a man home when he is that 
way.” Ware proposed to take him in a carriage to 
“ Mrs. Sharkey’s,” and procure him a room. The 
others consented to this, and the party separated, 


116 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


leaving unvisited other and lower places of sinfulness 
which abound and are nurtured by the same thing 
that had conquered Haldon’s manhood. 

Arriving at “ Mrs. Sharkey’s,” Haldon was assisted 
up the steps, and into the hall upon the settee near 
the door. He walked steadily, without speaking or 
manifesting a desire to control his direction, and Tom 
said, “ This is one of them drunks that go to a man’s 
head but don’t down him. Lots of men that way. 
No young fellows.” 

Ware rapped on Mrs. Sharkey’s door, then shouted ; 
finally it was opened, just a little, and that lady’s 
voice came out in unamiable tones : 

“ What are ye doin’, wakin’ me up this time av 
night, I want to know ?” 

“ Mrs. Sharkey, I have a friend here who wants a 
room. He has been drinking too much.” 

“ It’s not kefepin’ a transient I am, and ye know it 
well, Mr. Ware. If ye’re brought a drunken man 
wid ye, take him to your own room and sleep wid 
him.” 

She had opened the door a trifle farther to give 
emphasis to her decision, and the form on the settee 
was in full view. 

“ As I’m a live woman, it’s Mister Haldon! Wait 
till I dress mesilf.” 

The snap of a match, the rustle of clothes, the 
stamp of a foot to adjust a shoe, the rattle of a hair 














« 


•• -*»• . * •>».. a — ■' • > rr- - mi — i. ^ 


* 






w 




• ** ‘S «->**> 




CELESTINE ANTICIPATES A VICTORY, 


W. FLOYD, ARTIST, 



THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


117 


brush thrown on the marble top of a dresser ; and 
Mrs. Sharkey appeared in the hall with a shawl on 
her arm. 

“ I have no empty rooms, but there is one across 
the street. Can he walk, is it?” 

“ He can walk well enough, Mrs. Sharkey.” 

“ Go across wid me, Mr. Ware, and I’ll see him 
well treated. Dear! dear ! Sich a good man.” 

“ Do you know him, Mrs. Sharkey ?” 

“ No, I don’t know him. Every buddy knows him. 
Why shud I be knowin’ him specially ?” 

They reached the hall of the house opposite and 
Mrs. Sharkey politely remarked, “ Mister Ware, it’s 
not wantin’ any more help I’ll be, and I am obliged 
to ye for cornin’ wid me across the street. I’ll see 
Mister Haldon gets a comfortable place to sleep. 
Good night, Mister Ware ; I’m obliged to ye.” 

# 

A strange perfume wafted into his face by puffs of 
soft air ; an opening of the eyes which upon a first 
awakening see nothing around them but dwell upon 
their latest vision ; then, closing in a half somnolence, 
mingle the past with the present ; and Haldon looked 
down the long funnel of the concert-room over the 
dead men, and under the pall. Upon the stage, sur- 
rounded by streams of light and filling its tiny space, 
sat Celestine Folsom dressed in white; in snowy 
laces and clinging silk ; with sparkling diamonds and 


118 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


ornaments of gold. The waving of her feather fan 
disturbed the pall above, and it parted in inky folds 
that covered the men below. The stage with its 
enchanting vision and its streamers of light, passed 
over and drew near to him. He saw the limpid 
beauty of her soft brown eyes ; the enticing flashes 
of her confiding smile ; the fine brown hair in ripples 
and splashes over her beautiful head and among the 
laces around her neck. The form bent forward and 
the drapery touched him. The midday sun flashed 
his rays around the edges of the drawn curtains and 
lighted the reality by his side, waving the feather fan 
to cool his face. 

He looked from her to the back of the crimson 
lounge on which he lay ; to the strange figures on 
the sleeve of his dressing-gown ; to the embroidered 
quilt of many designs spread over him ; to the cur- 
tains waving in sidewise undulations before the arch, 
and to the pier glass. 

His brain searched for memory of the time between 
the concert-room and the awakening on the lounge, 
but it was gone, and he turned to her for aid : 

“Celestine, why am I here?” 

The question came as a messenger of reproach and 
shame, and drove the smile from her face. 

“They said you asked to come.” 

“They said!” and through his weakened brain 
flashed thoughts of consequences ; low whispers in 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


119 


the air, bearing his name ; glances of sorrow and 
reproach ; words of scorn, and movements of con- 
tempt. 

“Why did you not turn me away?” 

“Would that repay you for all your kindness to 
me? Would it repay your interest and advice in 
things that I could not comprehend? Would it 
repay you for all the pleasant hours you gave to me 
when no one else could cheer ? Nothing that I could 
do would give what you deserve.” 

The smile returned. 

Haldon arose from the lounge and removed the 
dressing-gown ; put on his own coat and overcoat, 
which Celestine brought from the dressing-room, and 
stood by the easy chair. 

Sometimes, when a soul has gone far down into 
depths of degradation and finds itself upon the edge 
of deeper pits, it rises out of the blackness and for a 
time hovers above in the radiance of purity. 

Haldon looked at the beautiful girl who now sat 
upon the crimson lounge, and forgot about himself ; 
forget his imperiled reputation, and thought for her. 

“ Celestine, a woman’s life is either of heaven or 
of hell. As men are, she is not. Their existence 
lies between. They can partake of her heavenly 
goodness and be refreshed ; they can sip with her 
the cup of sinfulness and not be overcome ; they have 
not the strength to scale her heights, nor the help- 


120 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


lessness to remain in her depths. Men sustain her 
who stands above ; they trample upon her who goes 
below, and there is no help for her. Away from the 
gates of paradise, opened by repentance, they push 
her to the desert of despair. You have come among 
men. Go back above, and when one climbs towards 
you with shortening steps but unflinching eye, put 
out your hand and help him to your side. Touch 
not the hand of him who leads below.” 

They went to the door. She laid her hand on his 
as he touched the knob, put her arm around him, and 
said, “ You have made me love you. Come to me 
again.” 

He looked into the soft brown eyes and innocence 
was not there. He went away, and, without sin, 
John Haldon felt himself covered with shame as an 
enveloping wave. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


What is a life ? A rushlight dim ; 

Its death, a darkness where it shone. 



HE next morning Hal- 
don received a letter 
from Tucson. His 
impulse, at first, was 
to send it to Celes- 
tine unopened, with 
a note of explana- 
tion and a request 
to be relieved from 
further interest in 
her behalf; but he 
thought of his prof- 
fered assistance and could not clearly see his way to 
a retreat. 

He opened the letter, which read : 

“ Mr. John Haldon, Chicago. 

“ Dear Sir — Answering your enquiry regarding 
value, etc., of ‘Silver Star’ stock, I regret to say that 
it is worthless, and trust that you are not as yet 
financially interested in it. The 4 Silver Star* is one 
of a numerous class in this territory that require an 


122 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


expenditure of one dollar and fifty cents in labor to 
realize one dollar in coin. Specimens of rock can be 
found that will assay good value, but as a whole, for 
working purposes, it is not remunerative. 

“This information I received from an expert min- 
ing superintendent, who was at one time offered a 
considerable sum of money by the Secretary, Bentley 
Ware, for his affidavit that ore in sight would give 
an assay value of one hundred dollars per ton ; this to 
aid in floating the stock. The whole outfit was 
Bentley Ware ; the other officers, figure-heads for 
small pay. Ware placed the stock here and there by 
the help of misrepresentation, and was obliged to 
leave this section to avoid the homicidal tendencies 
of several citizens. He is undoutedly a man to be 
avoided in any and every relation of life. 

“Very truly yours, 

“ H. M. Sherman, Att’y.” 

“A boon companion of a rascal, and an associate 
and adviser of an adventuress ! ” With this thought 
Haldon looked about the office, feeling himself an 
object of general notice. 

Again his mind dwelt upon consequences which 
included his family, himself, and his business ; and 
he thought of Josephine. His hand trembled ; he 
delayed his correspondence, went to “ Lowman and 
Stone’s Place,” and took deep draughts of brandy ; 
with steadied nerves returned and resumed the duties 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


123 


of the day. A whirl of disgraceful possibilities went 
through his brain ; again his nerves relaxed their 
tension ; again the brandy, and often repeated during 
the day. 

In the evening he felt morose and ugly, and went 
to “ Lowman and Stone’s Place” for something to 
overcome that. The Professor came in and saluted 
him pleasantly, even affably. Haldon forgot his tact ; 
forgot the public place that he was in ; forgot his 
station as a gentleman, and went back to the impulses 
of his barbarous Saxon ancestry. ‘‘You are a dog! 
Mr. Ware, don’t speak to me.” 

The Professor looked upon a powerful man in 
anger, with discretion overcome by stimulant. He 
looked at the broad chest, the clenched hands and 
flaming eyes, and receded from him two steps back- 
wards ; although Haldon did not advance, he held a 
hand before him and took other steps back. 

“You are a cowardly one; a sneaking one, who 
creeps into the company of gentlemen and licks their 
hands ; a contemptible one, that they should not 
strike, but kick out of their path.” 

The Professor moved farther away. 

Lowman, who heard the loud, positive voice from 
his office, came out, spoke to Haldon and led him 
aside. 

“ Mr. Haldon, you’re attracting attention. A 
business man like you don’t want that. A little mis- 


124 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


understanding between friends shouldn’t be anybody 
else’s affair ; besides, it don’t do my ‘ Place ’ any 
good. You have known me a long time, and you 
know I’ll always do anything for your interest. I 
look upon you as a friend. Now, don’t think of this 
any further, not to-night. You’ll meet again when 
you’re feeling better and things will be all right.” 

“ Never, Mr. Lowman.” 

“ Well, well, let it go now. Come into one of the 
rooms and take something with me, and tell me what 
it’s all about.” 

As they passed into the room Lowman sprung the 
latch upon the door. The Professor went out upon 
the street. The drink was brought on Lowman’s 
order, and he sat patiently awaiting the explanation. 

Haldon, when entering the room, had intended to 
tell Lowman the manner of man whom he had intro- 
duced into his society, but when he had drank, his 
anger was cooled, and he held the empty glass in his 
hand ; looked down into its frosted bottom, and 
thought. This is a part of what he thought : 

“ Is this I, John Haldon?” 

He looked at his empty hand ; within the palm 
and on the back; then looked across the table at 
Lowman as if to enquire ; then looked again into the 
depths of the glass. 

“ This must be another. How did I, John Hal- 
don, get into this body, this being? John Haldon 




THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 125 


was good ; this is bad ; he was a gentleman ; this, a 
brawler, a disturber of quiet ; he associated with men 



of character and women of incorruptible virtue ; this 
visits iniquity and walks about with rascality.” 

He looked at Lowman ; stared at him as though 
he were not seen ; filled his glass and rested his 
cheek on the open hand, his elbow on the table ; 
looked at the full glass clasped by the other hand, 
and thought again : 


126 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“No, this is not I, John Haldon. This, goes to 
his home and to his bed, and those around him say, 
Good night ; he went to his home and the arms of 
a wife came around him, and children were in his lap 
and about him the evening through ; went with him 
to the chamber door ; kissed and caressed and wished 
for the morning light to be with him again. This, goes 
to his work and it absorbs his thought, except he feels 
a thirst ; he, saw the smiles of wife and heard the 
prattle and laughter of children, mingled with papers, 
books, and merchandise, in all the happy day.” 

He drank the liquor in the glass ; filled it and 
drank again ; still he held the glass in his hand and 
looked in its frosted bottom. 

“John Haldon looked upon his fellow men with 
even eye, on equal altitude ; this, no, this is not 
John Haldon, this is the other. This one has 
seen corrupting sights and tarried in vulgar places ; 
looks upwards when he meets his fellows, as if he 
were below them, or downward, as if ashamed that 
they might know him as he is ; he saw women as the 
angel forms of earth — saw their purity of soul ; this 
sees their sins and thinks upon their frailties.” 

He put his forehead upon the empty hand, and for 
long mpments all was still, except the jingling glasses 
at the bar. 

“ He was a man, and this !” 

He raised the hand that clasped the glass and 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


127 


struck it down upon the table. Slivers of glass flew 
about the room and awakened Lowman from the 
nodding sleep into which he had fallen. He looked 
at Haldon and saw only glaring eyes, set teeth, and 
clenching hands. He rose as Haldon did, and as 
Ware had shrank away from him in the bar-room, so 
did he now, from the eyes and hands. 

“Mr. Haldon, what ails you? You look like 
another man.” 

“ I am ; there are two of us.” 

He went from the room, by the bar, and out at 
the door. Lowman looked after him and said to a 
bar-keeper : 

“He acts like he was crazy.” 

Later, the Professor returned and Lowman lost no 
time in asking questions or ascertaining wherefores, 
but opened as one possessing full knowledge. 

“Mr. Ware, you seem to lose sight of the fact that 
this is a business that we’re engaged in, and not a 
racket, nor anything we’re doing for fun, and you’ve 
let your end slump. You’ve already carried it a great 
deal further than you know how to, and I’m thinking 
it’s time for me to dissolve and quit you.” 

“Mr. Lowman, I am not aware that I have made 
any mistake. Everything was all right, so far as I 
know, up to this evening. What could have caused 
the trouble with him I cannot imagine.” 

“That’s just what’s the matter, Mr. Ware; you 


128 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


can’t imagine. You don’t want to imagine. You 
ought to have studied the ground ahead of you so 
you wouldn’t need to imagine, but you’d know enough 
to act, and that, in such a way that nothing like this 
would come up, as happened here to-night. Your 
cake’s dough in that direction now. You’ll never 
get in range again. A man like him talks as he did 
to you to-night, and you’re more liable to get hurt if 
you come around where he is than to get looked at.” 

“ I’ll get even with him yet.” 

“ You’ll get even ! If you drew a gun on him and 
he just looked at you, ’twould scare you so you’d drop 
it on the floor ; and as for hurting him any other way 
— well, Professor, let’s talk about something else.” 

“ Lowman, I know something about him that will 
‘ fetch him,’ as you say.” 

“Yes, you do. Now, Professor, let me give you 
just a short advice ; I’m listening to what you mean. 
You keep away from him — way away. Study up 
something else and see if you can’t handle it better 
next time. I’ve lived in a big city a good while and 
I’ve seen about all there’s to be seen in this world, 
and I want to tell you that I have never seen a man 
get his fingers into somebody else’s private affairs 
but what got ’em slashed, sooner or later. He’s a 
straight man and won’t stand but a mighty little of 
your nonsense.” 

“Well, Lowman, I want to tell you that the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


129 


straighter a man is, the more advantage you have 
over him, if you know of something that is usually 
concealed from friends and family.” 

“ Professor, you may think you’re on the right track, 
but I want you to know that everything ends right 
here, between us, and what you do now is your own 
business. There’s nothing in it. When I play, it’s 
for a sure thing, or I don’t play.” 

Notwithstanding the reasonable advice, a week 
later Haldon received this letter : 

“ Mr. John Haldon : 

“ Dear Sir — You have seen fit to insult me in a 
public place, and because you are a man of standing 
in this city, those who were around us believe me to 
be in the wrong in some way. 

They, as well as myself, are at a loss to know the 
reason why you should have said what you did. 
Should you in any manner, by further association 
with me, or by your own words, remove the impres- 
sion that you have made, I will overlook it ; otherwise, 
I shall adopt my own course for reparation. I shall 
be pleased to hear from, or to meet you in conference, 
at your very earliest convenience. Yours, etc. 

Bentley Ware.” 

Haldon’s first emotion upon reading this letter was 
one of contempt for the writer’s dependence upon 
another to give him a manly standing with those 


9 


130 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


about him ; and the next, of anger, that a man of 
Ware’s character, which he now comprehended, 
should presume to ask companionship with him. He 
threw the letter aside ; took it up and read it again : 
“ Otherwise, I shall adopt my own course.” “They 
said ; ” and Celestine’s apology sent flushes of blood 
to his head in painful volumes, which receded, leaving 
him faint and haggard. 

Sweet is the approval of our fellow men. All the 
joys of life are interwoven in its woof and warp, and 
without its shielding mantle the chills of solitude 
penetrate the soul. To be tolerated; this is agony. 
To be avoided ; this is purgatory. To be condemned ! 
My God! and awful thoughts flashed through Hal- 
don’s mind. Again he felt himself the “ other man.” 

Strange thoughts of vengeance came, and murder- 
ous impulse grappled with an absent foe. Demons 
whispered 'in his ear to kill, that it would be pleasure ; 
to trample, that it would be joy ; to mutilate, that it 
would be delight ; to destroy, that it would be ecstasy. 
All mankind had gone except his enemy, and him, he 
would annihilate. Where are the weapons and where 
the grave? 

A hand upon his shoulder and one upon his cheek. 
Haldon came back to himself and saw his daughter 
Josephine looking into his face. 

“ Father, go home with me. This is almost your 
usual time, and you are not well. Dark hollows are 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


131 


about your eyes. You need rest, and perhaps a 
physician.” 

“ Nothing serious, Josephine. A little overwork, 
and some annoyances. I am unused to them.” 

“ Father, I wanted you with me this evening. I 
too, am troubled, about you, and about myself. I 
wish to talk with you about Leslie, and I want your 
best thoughts to aid me. This is why I called for you. 

I did not see you this morning.” 

“Josephine, I am unfitted for that, to-night; 
besides, I have something that demands my attention, 
and will give this evening to that, and reserve for you, 
to-morrow’s. I will wait on you to the carriage, as I 
need all the time of the day and evening to finish 
what I have to do.*’ 

Haldon looked after the carriage as it went down 
the street towards his home, and a strange impression 
came upon him that it had started upon a long 
journey. He watched it until it passed over the 
bridge, then went back to his desk and took the 
papers and letters relating to Celestine’s affairs to the 
office of Judge Heron, his attorney, and gave him, 
in detail, an account of his interest and effort in her 
behalf, and requested him to complete the work that 
he had begun, without expense to her. This done, 
he went directly to “ Lowman and Stone’s Place,” 
asked for the exclusive use of a private room, and 


132 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


requested Lowman to tell Mr. Ware that he wished 
his company during the evening. 

The room assigned to him was closed to the ceil- 
ing, and no noise of glasses, or the talk of men, could be 
heard from the bar-room. He put his hat upon a 
narrow shelf placed across the angle of a corner and 
lay down upon the leather sofa opposite. 

Four leather-covered chairs were placed along one 
end and upon the side opposite the door ; in the 
centre of the room, a heavy mahogany table, broad 
and round, with a single support like a newel-post set 
firmly into the floor ; a chandelier above, with four 
gas jets ; glass pendants played with the light and 
tossed it, each to the others in colored flashes ; and 
porcelain bells, suspended from the ceiling, swung to 
and fro in voiceless rhythms. He closed his eyes 
against the scene. 

Geometric figures rimmed with light, and swelling 
spots of frightful colors, moved around amid the 
darkness. Great flames of light shot into awful 
space. The frightened eyelids drew apart and his 
sight fell upon a peopled room. In the chairs, grim 
forms in rioting, swinging about their heads long 
burning cups in flames of red and blue ; bending over 
the table were hideous women, with bony arms, writ- 
ing on scrolls with blood ; around the floor, pale 
children dressed in red, with tearful faces, whirling 
their bodies round in gleeful dance, while from the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


133 


lights above lithe dwarfs threw balls of fire, with 
nauseous odors, upon the forms below. The bells 
above them tolled in mournful tones. In the corner 
stood himself with his hat upon his head, looking 
about in unconcern. He arose and went among 
them. All were gone. The chairs, the table and 
the hat was there, and he, in trembling form. 

He went to the bar and took deep drinks of quiet, 
and his nerves obeyed ; then returned to the room 
and waited, looked about to see if other forms were 
there, and longed for company, even were it a fiend, 
and hoped that Ware would come, and soon. When 
he did arrive, he greeted him almost cordially, and 
then went to himself and to his hatred for the man. 

“ Mr. Haldon, this is an unexpected pleasure that 
you receive me pleasantly, especially after the ter- 
rible scoring you gave me the other night. I thought 
at the time that you were not feeling well, and that 
it was simply an outburst — a safety valve, as it were — 
and must congratulate myself that I kept under con- 
trol, and did not retaliate rashly and do something 
that I should now regret.” 

“ Mr. Ware, do you know the 1 Silver Star’ mine? 
What are your relations to it?” 

The question did not bring discomfiture, as Haldon 
had expected, but retaliation. 

“ Mr. Haldon, are you acquainted with any one on 
Wabash avenue, and what are your relations there?” 


134 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Haldon thought, “ He is convinced of wrong; 
others will be. Oh, Josephine ! you must never 
know.” 

Ware perceived an advantage and followed it. 

“ We men all have speculations, financial and other- 
wise. If I can buy a piece of rock for a dollar and 
sell it for a million, how do I differ from a man who 
buys merchandise and sells it for ten per cent profit? 
I get all that I can, and so does he.” 

“He does it honestly, Mr. Ware, and without mis- 
representations. His neighbors respect him and do 
not drive him out of the community with guns and 
ropes.” 

“ Perhaps they would, Mr. Haldon, did they know 
of his life outside of business hours.” 

Again the retort, and again was Haldon aware of 
the presence of the “ other man,” and he was in 
anger. 

“ This talk don’t pay, Mr. Haldon. Men are all 
alike when you get to the bottom of things, and so 
are women.” 

Men have been killed for saying less than that:, and 
the “other man” whispered to Haldon, “ Kill him.” 

Ware changed his seat, went around the table and 
near the door. The eyes before him began to pene- 
trate. 

“ Mr. Ware, you are not insulted. You have not 
felt insulted. Tell me the full meaning of your letter. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


135 


As you say, this talk does not pay, and I ask you to 
lay aside all fear of me and tell me precisely what you 
think. You need not fear consequences.” 

“ Of course, you know, Mr. Haldon, that I could 
make things very uncomfortable for you if I should tell 
some things in some places, and you have given me 
the provocation to do so, but if it can be arranged to 
make me even again, I am not disposed to make you 

any trouble ” 

“Well?” 

“ I feel that I am just as good as anybody, and if 
something did happen away out in that western 
country, where every man tries to beat the other man, 
it does not affect me here. I have come here to 
make Chicago my home, and, of course, I want to be 
in as good standing as possible. You have hurt me 
and you should go out of your way to make me even.” 

“ And if I refuse you will try and get revenge ; is 
that your intention ?” 

“ I could, Mr. Haldon, if I was not satisfied that 
you would do the fair thing. If I stay in Chicago I 
wish to keep in good society, and if I can be recog- 
nized by you, this will aid, and if I could know some 
gentlemen and ladies of your acquaintance, that 
would help more. I am capable of sustaining myself 
in society, even as good as that which your daughter 


moves in. 


136 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“ Mr. Ware, I am obliged to go down the street 
for awhile. Remain here until I come back.” 

Ware supposed that he wished to cancel a business 
engagement for his benefit and gave assent. 

Haldon went from “ Lowman and Stone’s Place” 
to one of its kind in the next block. He looked over 
the bar to the side-board beyond ; among the bottles, 
from one to the other, as if to make a choice. He 
knew their contents and their names ; knew their 
action and their strength. None would satisfy. He 
wanted something filled with fire ; besides, there was 
not enough. He wanted lakes, in which to bathe , 
an ocean, upon whose bottom he might lie and drink 
the world above. 

“A drink ? No. It is nothing. Give me a bottle, 
and a room. Give me whisky, the strongest. It 
makes one ugly, mean. I would be that, and venge- 
ful. What do I care for a city full, for the world ; 
for anybody, for 1 what they say,’ for anything? The 
good have gone ; they are not good, they only seem 
so. The bad are all around, and they should die ; 
they live, and must be killed. This is a small bottle, 
very small. Bar-keeper, bring another. # # * 

“ He brought himself around me and showed me 
his filthy soul ; says that I am foul and base ; taunts 
me, and comes to me with threats. To me ! He 
spoke about my daughter; my daughter, Josephine. 
He should die for that ; should die if he had ever 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


137 


thought of her ; should die if he knew that I had a 
daughter ; must die ! # # # 

“ Weapons ? what need have I for weapons ? I’ll 
pull his arms from out their sockets and swing the 
bleeding tendons in the air. I ’ll put my hands around 
his neck ; tear it from his body, and wash me in the 
gushing blood. He is there, dreaming of iniquity. 
This is the time and this the opportunity.” 

The Professor was walking the few paces that the 
room allowed, up and down between the mahogany 
table and the door. “ Victory already assured ! Aid 
and influence of respectability ! Profit and position 
to come ! I am wise and skillful; Lowman, a fool, 
who thinks that he knows everything.” 

Haldon came and met a serene smile as he who 
conquers an enemy. He laid his hat upon the shelf, 
and quickly turning, put both hands about the Pro- 
fessor’s neck and throat ; bent him backward across 
the mahogany table and laid his length upon him. 
The Professor saw above him steel-blue eyes that 
blazed with fires of murder ; a face that scowled with 
unrelenting vengeance, and gleaming teeth amid the 
foam ; the same dread aspect that the brutal Saxon 
took with him upon the battle-field ; and the same 
sinews that drove the battle-axe through shield and 
skull and brain he felt around his throat. He could 
make no outcry. His feet hung over the table’s rim 
and struck but air. The feeble blows from his hand 


138 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


took no effect. His muscles soon relaxed, and 
Haldon sat upon him, the better to see him die. The 
hands around his neck shifted and tightened their 
grasp ; the bones in his throat snapped and pierced 
through the flesh and skin ; blood oozed out and ran 
between the fingers, over the hands, upon the table, 
and splashed upon the floor. The face above him 
smiled, but the eyes gleamed with murder and ven- 
geance. Flecks of foam fell into the blood, and the 
fingers sank deeper into the flesh. 

Delirious screams went from the room, by the bar, 
and out upon the street, bearing in their tones a hor- 
rible disaster. Men ran to whence they came, burst 
in the door, recoiled and shrank away. Before them 
stood a maniac, bathing his hands in smoking blood, 
and on the mahogany table lay the Professor with 
mangled throat and glassy eyes. 

Officers were called, who overpowered Haldon and 
took him away. 

Lowman came in soon after, elbowed his way 
through the crowd ; stood at the door of the room, 
and looked at the white face of the Professor up- 
turned to the gas light ; then looked back over the 
mass of people surging through the entrance, filling 
the wide bar-room to its utmost corner, and whispered 
to a bar-keeper : 

“It’s the biggest advertisement the ‘Place’ ever had.’* 

The bar-keeper said, “ Immense ! ” 


CHAPTER IX. 


The ship sailed off the rim of earth 
On the ocean of space beyond. 



LUNACY commission 
is a good thing. 
The two physicians 
know when a man 
does not act right, 
and the J u dge 
knows where to 
send him. The 
family physician 
helps to break the 
unity of cause and 
effect. 

A printed form, called a commitment, with ques- 
tions to answer, facts and conditions to assert, and 
authority to receive and restrain, is completed, 
recorded and handed to the proper officer for exe- 
cution. At this stage of existence its greatest value 
is developed. 1 1 is a legal transfer of the man to those 
who understand their business, fully and minutely. 

The second day after the tragedy in “Lowman 


140 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and Stone’s Place ” Haldon was brought before the 
court on the question of sanity. 

Dr. Mallows, who was one of the commissioners, 
said that he was astonished, perfectly astonished, to 
find Mr. Haldon in this state of mind. He had 
never known him to act in any way abnormally ; his 
business affairs he knew to be in good condition, and 
his family relations were supremely happy ; the cause 
for this sudden and violent attack was difficult to 
ascertain. 

The Judge suggested (the examination was in 
chambers) that he might have drunk too much, but 
Dr. Mallows waved the idea into discredit with an 
outward movement of his hand, and said that no one 
was ever known to become insane from the use of 
liquor ; it might kill a man, possibly, if he drank an 
inordinate quantity ; might develop his insanity ; but 
make him insane, never. The action of alcohol on 
the brain was transient, entirely so ; and the effect 
soon passed away when the cause was removed ; but 
there was no doubt of Haldon’s insanity, none what- 
ever, and he turned to the blank commitment and 
began to write upon it. 

Judge Heron, who was present in Haldon’s interest, 
suggested that a thorough investigation might develop 
a cause for his condition, and that for the benefit of 
those who would treat his case at the Asylum — if for 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS! 


141 


no other reason — that cause should be found, were it 
possible. 

“ Those physicians,” said Dr. Mallows, <f make an 
especial study of this branch of our science, and no 
doubt pay more attention to the demonstrations than 
to those things that might cause insanity. Over- 
work, a sudden passion or fright, produce acute 
mania. They treat the mania. The cause is 
removed when the patient is put under restraint.” 

The commitment was made out in legal form, 
attested by the Judge, and the officer took Haldon 
and went with him to his new home. 

In the general conversation that followed the Judge 
expressed an opinion that liquor was the cause of the 
whole affair, including the insanity, and said, “ A man 
of Haldon’s brains and position should be ashamed of 
a life ending in this condition.” 

“ At just what point in his life,” said Judge Heron, 
“ would you have this shame begin, and how would 
you have it develop ? 

“ Let us find the truth. 

“ Should he be ashamed when he found wine upon 
his father’s table, and drank because his father did ? 
Should he be ashamed when, at a society gathering, 
the fair maidens of his circle filled the glasses and 
drank with him, while their mothers smiled approval ? 
Should he be ashamed in his college days, when with 
genial companions and generous wine, he filled the 


142 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


occasional evening with frolic and song ? Even 
then, the teachers said, ‘ Wine is good for the stom- 
achs sake ; but avoid excess.* 

“ Should he be ashamed when his employers and 
their rivals encouraged the use of drink to obtain 
advantage in competition, and secure pre-eminence 
in trade ? Should he be ashamed when his partners 
and friends in business life encouraged him and them- 
selves in its use, and no one said, ‘ Do ye not so * ? 
Should he be ashamed when he found the coils of the 
serpent drawn tightly around him, and he would give 
his all to unwind them, but could not ? 

“No! Were he reeling along the walk, or lying 
upon the street bespattered with filth, the shame 
would not be his. But shame there is ; deep, damn- 
ing shame, and whose? 

“ Let us find the truth. 

“ The shame is ours; mine, and yours, who were 
not born with the taste of alcohol upon our tongues, 
and have no desire for drink. We know the right 
and are not influenced by it. We know that the 
youth should never taste. Our tongue gives no 
advice and our pen no warning. We know the 
danger to the man, and put out no hand to draw him 
back, but by vote and influence we build him gaudy 
tombs by every wayside where he can go and die. 
The widow and her homeless children point at us, 
and a thousand forms with scarlet faces and unsteady 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


143 


steps walk about the streets and show us to the 
people. The shame is not his, but ours ; mine and 
yours.” 

“ Let us find the truth!” was not a thoughtless 
phrase with Judge Heron. The expression might 
be called a habit, but the impelling force was an 
earnest demand for the broadest comprehension of 
fact and his relation to it. 

At one time, in compliance with a request for his 
opinion relating to personal liberty, in its connection 
with the saloon interest, he had said : 

“ Personal liberty is an adjustable privilege that 
is sometimes taken from the individual and given as 
a compensation to those whom he has injured. As 
an independent fact it has no existence, but always 
remains an integral part of a controlling whole, and 
will be exalted or restricted as the interests of the 
whole demand. 

“ The 'Army of the Saloon’ is entrenched upon 
its last battle-field. It has no slogan for right or 
justice, and its battle cry is ‘ Personal liberty,’ which 
it shouts to alarm the unthoughtful and bring 
recruits. 

“ It levies upon its people the tax of unjust profits 
and gives them no protection. It throws its dead 
over the ramparts and takes no care of its wounded, 
but pushes them within the lines of its adversary. 
It is the gigantic injustice of the age. Compared 


144 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


with its rank and file, the tyrants of the Dark Ages 
were angels of mercy and ministers of justice. These 
did not kill the soul. Reason and common sense 
have already denied them personal liberty. Laws 
and ordinances have already built fortifications around 
them and will soon take it from them. 

u When a wrong loudly asserts its right to liberty 
of action, the day of its correction is near at hand. 

“What of the saloon-keeper? Has he no rights ? 
He is entitled to the same consideration as the con- 
victed criminal before a court ; that his punishment 
shall not exceed his offense. He has already been 
condemned by enlightened opinion, and only awaits 
the sentence that it will inflict.” 


CHAPTER X. 


In that strange Country- 
Sounds were sights 
And sighto weird — 

In that strange country. 



HEN Haldon arrived 
at the Asylum he 
came before Doctor 
Peters for examina- 
tion. This doctor 
was one of a class 
who are employed 
by the State for a 
specified purpose ; 
well paid, and denied 
the privilege of prac- 
tice outside the Asylum. Having an assured position, 
they are not dependent upon popularity for advance- 
ment, nor are they obliged to study the beliefs and 
whims of those whom they serve, to keep their pat- 
ronage. A man who is brought to them for treat- 
ment or restraint, no matter what his rank or station, 
is a case to be treated, and nothing more. They 
usually tell the truth and act accordingly. 


146 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Doctor Peters was a man of large experience, 
sound judgment and deep enquiry. He glanced at 
the signatures on Haldon’s commitment, noted its 
legality, and dwelt upon the reasons for its execution. 
It said, a In re John Haldon ; an insane person. 
Age: Forty-five. Form of insanity: Acute mania. 
Cause: Unknown. Tendency: Homicidal.” 

Doctor Peters looked from the commitment to 
Haldon, and said, “ Form : Monomania. Cause : 
Whisky. Tendency: Delirium.” He then told the 
attendant to put him in a room with a latticed door, 
and watch him closely. As he turned away, Haldon 
asked pleadingly : 

“ Doctor, can I have some brandy ? I have had 
but little during the past three days.” 

Doctor Peters answered, u Not a drop.” 


JUDGE HERON’S NARRATIVE. 

Two months after Haldon’s commitment, I received 
a letter from Doctor Peters, asking me to visit him. 
He said that Haldon was now quiet, except at inter- 
vals of short duration, when he was under a delusion^ 

*In differentiating between an illusion, a hallucination, and a 
delusion, as these terms are properly accepted by alienists, the dia- 
gram opposite may serve as illustration and assist the layman in 
remembering the definitions. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


147 


that his head was filled with knives or other weapons. 

He believed that my visit would be a benefit to him 

and that it would turn his thoughts to the contem- 

plation of realities. # # 

# 

A warm, still day of late September. The thin 
smoke of an Indian summer shrinking away to the 
closer companionship of distance, and dimming in the 
sight a mass of foliage, with leaves deftly painted 
in bright colors and soft tints by the inspired autumnal 
artist. Beyond, a dome, towers, and modern archi- 
tecture in giant construction, spreading its ornate 

a, represents the brain; b, the peripheral organ of sense; c, the 
nerve connecting the peripheral organ with the brain ; 
and d , an external object. 

First : When all three are involved, i. e. when the 
brain (a) perceives — say through the peripheral sense 
organ (6) the eye — an external object ( d ) wrongfully, 
such idea is an illusion. For instance, a person sees in a young man 
of twenty, his old gray-haired father. 

Second : When a and b only are involved, i. e. when the brain (a) 
perceives through the peripheral organ of sense ( b ) an external object 
where there is none, the result is a hallucination. There are, there- 
fore, hallucinations of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and general sen- 
sation. Hallucinations of sight, for instance, are perceptions brought 
about, not by impressions upon the retina by external objects, but 
by stimulation within the central organ (a), the brain, which stimu- 
lation results in a projection as if originating in the retina. Exam- 
ple : The alcoholist sees serpents and hears their hissipg in an empty 
room. 

Third : When the brain (a) conceives an idea independently of a peri- 
pheral sense-organ and of an external object, the idea is a delusion. 
Examples : A man believes himself to be Napoleon the Great. A 
man believes himself to be internally invested by fiends, weapons, 
electrical apparatus, etc, 

{Definitions constructed by A. W. Hoisholt, M.D., Resident Physician , 
State Insane Asylum , Stockton, California. 



148 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


shelter over distant gables ; approaching nearer, a long 
row of elms ; at the end, an arched entrance midway 
of spreading walls and grated windows ; a statue of 
Mercy upon its keystone ; on the face, in chiseled 
letters, “ State Asylum for the Insane.” 

A passage through to a roadway beyond ; on either 
side, behind the buildings, high walls enclosing space, 
where men are walking, thinking, smiling, laughing^ 
weeping, talking, praying, shouting and blaspheming. 

Within, decorated offices with prosperous air and 
busy desks ; beyond, on either hand, heavy latticed 
doors opening to ample corridors with spotless floors 
and tinted walls ; in the distance, other latticed doors, 
and other long corridors, retreating at angles from 
the first ; at their junction, broad landings, with 
chairs, a table, and a pendulum clock high on the wall. 

On either side the corridors, a row of rooms 
with latticed doors, admitting the outside eye to every 
corner ; spring locks within an outside knob of brass ; 
high grated windows ; brick walls plastered and 
painted white and clean ; a narrow bedstead fash- 
ioned from hollow iron pipe, bolted to the floor ; wire 
mattress ; upon it, one of wool ; warm blankets; soft 
pillow and laundried sheets, where specks of dirt 
must never come. 

Above, and still above, other corridors, other rooms, 
other latticed doors, and other landings ; with chairs, 
a table, and a pendulum clock high on the wall. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


149 


Each corridor and its surrounding rooms comprise 
a ward. Experienced attendants, in neat apparel, 
attend to the wants and needs of their charges. 

Haldon recognized me, shook my hand and imme- 
diately became confidential. An attendant put an 
arm-chair in his room for my use, and Haldon sat 
upon the bed when we went in from the corridor ; 
afterwards, when he talked, he stood ; sometimes 
walked about ; sometimes threw himself upon the bed 
and covered his face in the pillow. When the attend- 
ant went away, he began : 

“ Have you got some brandy? No! That is 
what they all say when I ask for it. I can smell it, 
though, when I think of it, and taste it ; O, such a 
taste ! when I dream about it ! They cannot deprive 
me of that. If the awful weapon was not in my 
head I could go away ; then, I could get some. They 
say that I cannot go until the weapon comes out. 
Perhaps it never will. How did it get in ? Such an 
awful thing ; I must tell you.” 

I will give the description of his delirium* in his 
own words ; and wish that I might put his gestures 
and expressions upon the pages with them. 

“It was the next day after they brought me here; 
yes, the next day. We were called to dinner. I 
wanted none. There was no wine ; no brandy ; 


♦The delirium of the inebriate, commonly called Delirium-tremens. 


150 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


nothing. I could not eat and was lying on the bed, 
here in this room. 

“ You see that bedstead ? See where it has been 
mended ? There ; the bow that makes the head. 
I will tell you about that, too. I will tell you every- 
thing and then you will know. 

“ I was lying on the bed. The corridors were 
silent. 

“ A strange feeling came to me, and round about 
me ; in the air, and from the ground. I felt that 
everything about this world was changed. Nothing 
remained as it was. The air was thick with odors 
that went away and sent others, deeper and more 
noxious. Strange forms came in from strange direc- 
tions, and in unusual manner. Colors changed in a 
twinkling, or scattered in ghastly splashes, returned, 
and deepened ; and sounds forsook their wonted ways; 
took grotesque shapes, and hideous ; wandered about, 
and lingered. 

“ The clock in the landing struck, One. 

“ I heard the sound drop to the floor and scramble 
through the lattices ; its metallic footsteps paced the 
corridor, stopped at my door, and it told me it was 
One ; went down the ward to other doors and said it 
was One ; went into other wards and told them it 
was One ; and far away I heard its dying whisper. 
One. 

“ ‘God send their souls to hell !* 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


151 


“ I heard the curse ring out upon the lower corri- 
dor, six awful words. 

“ They filed themselves along its length and slowly 
walked towards me ; turned in the landing ; came 
down the ward abreast, and ranged themselves 
around my door in hideous semi-circle, with legs and 
arms of skeletons, bodies of intertwining lizards, and 
heads of alphabetic flame ; a flaming eye in every 
letter; then fell upon their knees and raised their 
bony hands above their heads and prayed to Heaven, 
‘God, send their souls to hell.’ 

“ They arose and looked upon me through the 
lattices with all their flaming eyes, then went away 
through other wards, and prayed, and cursed, and 
prayed again. I heard them going through the 
grounds among the people walking there ; then back 
again to whence they came. I knew they sat upon 
a bench in the lower corridor and waited. 

“My head was burning. I heard the rain patter 
upon the trees and upon the walk beneath. I thought 
the sight would cool my fever, and arose and stood by 
the window. 

“The rain was blood! It dripped from off the 
leaves in waxen globules that clung in parting and 
lengthened out to scarlet threads ; then broke away 
and fell in whirling quivers. Among the groves, 
dark pools of blood ; and blood in streams was flow- 
ing in the gutters. The first that fell congealed and 


152 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


clung to the earth in uneven hills and pinnacles that 
waved in gluey oscillation, back and forth, as the 
warm blood ran between. Tints of reptile green 
flashed through the whole. 

“Above was horror. Mid yellow clouds that rose 
from smoking blood were giant abattoirs, and on their 
platforms stood grinning fiends with fishes' eyes ; 
dressed full in blue; blue cowls upon their heads. 
The awful weapons that they held and swung about 
the air ! The inner edge, a sickle ; the outer edge, 
a scimitar ; and the point, a polished needle. The 
cruel edges glinted in the sick sunlight that filtered 
through the clouds of smoke, and cut before they 
touched. 

“ Behind were cowering people, kneeling, suppli- 
cating, trembling, with no escape. The fiends heard 
not, but took screaming children and with sickle 
edges cut awful gashes around their foreheads and 
across their throats ; then stood upon the quivering 
forms and pressed the blood to streams, which ran 
along the floor and fell to the ground below. The 
blood flowed on forever. None would die. 

“ One held a man and drove the needle point far 
down his throat. Great streams of blood shot out 
among the clouds and fell to earth in showers. 

“One grasped a woman in prayer, with streaming 
eyes. With scimitar strokes he cut a gory cross 
upon her breast and showed her heart. With needle 






a aM 


: :’x 




■ 


i ^ v 


i 


STRUCK AT HIM WITH ALL MY FORCE 







THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 153 

thrust he pierced its artery, and throbbing jets fell 
down upon the air and changed to mists which crept 
around the hills and hid the groves. 

“Then colors changed. Red was black, with 
green vapors over and around it ; yellow was white) 
with lightning flashes shooting through ; and blue 
was shimmering crimson. Odors came from all the 
earth and mingled in a loathsome company. I could 
not look and turned away. 

“ God! Come to me ! Before my door, and look- 
ing through the lattices, with stony eyes gloating 
upon me, stood a fiend in shimmering crimson ; 
crimson cowl upon his head ; the awful weapon raised 
, in the air above him, its inner edge a sickle, its outer 
edge a scimitar, and its point a polished needle. 

“The door was locked. He could not reach me. 
My stifled breath came back. His form oozed 
through the door, among the lattices,, and stood 
within my room, the awful weapon raised above 
him. I wrenched the head from off the iron bed- 
stead and struck at him with all my force. He 
warded with his weapon. I did not touch him. The 
six dread words were pacing- up the lower corridor ; 
coming to me to pray. Perhaps their prayer would 
save me. 

“They ranged themselves again about my door in 
semi-circle ; their flaming eyes looked in upon us ; 
their legs spun round in rattling dances, their bony 


154 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


arms in gestures of delight. The prayer I hoped 
was cursing, 4 God send their souls to hell ! ’ and 
horrid imprecations crept among the tones. 

“ I will kill them all ! I swung the iron pipe 
around and struck the fiend. He pushed his weapon 
at me. I felt its sting upon my cheek and struck 
again with greater vengeance. I beat him back 
against the door and forced him through it. It fell 
beneath my blows. I struck among the dancing 
words and drove them down the corridor. The fiend 
was gone and took with him his dreadful weapon. 

“ Hands and arms, ropes and leather thongs came 
about me and bound me to the iron bedstead ; my 
feet below, my hands on either side. The door * 
came up and clanged its lock against me. 

“The clock in the landing struck, One — Two ! 

“They ran out at the door, came down the walk 
and climbed within my window ; chased each other 
about and under my bed, and sang an endless song, 

‘ One, Two.’ A face came to the latticed door. They 
hurried out, and away. So still. The world went 
with them. 

“ Soft brown eyes amid a confiding smile. She 
was not bad. She has come to rescue me ; to drive 
away the fiends ; to unbind my hands and feet ; to 
cool my head with her sweet breath ; to kiss and 
heal the wound upon my cheek. I will love her 
always; lay her face against my breast and hold her 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


155 


to my heart forever. I will breathe among the rip- 
ples of her beautiful hair and call her loving names. 
I will build her palaces of splendor in the midst of 
delightful gardens. I called her to me. 

“ As the fiend did, she oozed through the lattices 
and stood beside me in gorgeous raiment, with 
enchanting perfume. She threw herself upon me, 
her hands upon the pillow either side my head ; put 
her soft lips around the wound upon my cheek, and 
drew a stream and swallowed. I felt my blood start- 
ing towards her mouth from every vein and artery, 
and drew my hands to push her from me. The thongs 
cut into my wrists and held them ; I could not move. 

“ She drew and drank. The draught had reached 
my soul. I called and no one came. If I turned 
my face away, she followed ; still her lips around the 
wound, still drawing. 

“ I saw her hand upon the pillow. Strange growth 
had come upon the fingers. Shining cones, like 
tempered steel, were growing from their ends ; had 
grown to needle points ; five glittering weapons. I 
turned my head ; the other hand the same ; five shin- 
ing cones. She disarranged my vestments, and put 
her warm hand upon my breast ; upon the naked 
skin. I felt her range the cones in even circle over 
my heart, then plunge their cruel sharpness through 
the flesh? The other hand she put around my tem- 
ple, forcing the cones into my skull ; then, took a long, 


156 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


deep draught from out my wound and raised her head. 

“ I looked at her with fainting eyes. I saw the 
tresses of her hair turn into wriggling worms ; her 
tongue into a scorpions tail ; her soft brown eyes to 
fires of greed, and her confiding smile changed into 
scorn. She breathed on my face ; a baneful breath ; 
laughed a hideous, heartless laugh ; then pushed the 
cones yet deeper down. I felt their swelling wedges 
slide smooth through bone and cartilage and clasp 
around my heart and brain. Her scorpion tongue 
hissed in my ear, ‘I drew your soul away, and now, I 
take your heart and brain/ 

‘‘Angels of haste! Bring Samson's strength. 

“ I drew upon the leather thongs about my wrists ; 
one broke ; the right hand free. I clasped it on her 
neck, around the ruffled laces and around the wrig- 
gling worms. I felt my fingers sinking in the flesh. 
I have felt it somewhere, once before. I felt the 
laces draw ; the blood run over me ; I felt the bones 
break off. The head dropped down and fell upon the 
floor, the body lay across me. I pushed it back and 
drew the cones from round my heart and round my 
brain. I loosed the thongs from off my feet and 
from my other wrist, and took the body up, with giant 
strength, and hurled it through the lattices. 

“ Monster forms came in ; pressed me upon the 
bed, and brought three monstrous hooded^ cobras ; 
tied them in love knots ; one about my feet, and one 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


157 


upon each wrist. They went away and left her head 
lying beneath my bed. Colors changed again to all 
their wonted places. 

“ The clock in the landing struck, * One — Two — 
Three ! ’ 

“ I heard them wriggling down the corridor ; their 
scales rasping upon the burnished floor. They came 
crawling through the wall beside my bed, and near 
my head. The cobras raised their hoods and hissed. 

“ Three serpent sounds glided upon my pillow, 
coiled beside each cheek, and one, upon my fore- 
head ; raised their heads in air, and waved their 
rhythms, One — Two — Three ! A simple love knot ! 
It were easy to withdraw from them and throw my 
body through the window into the blood below. 
That would be heaven to this. The cobras heard my 
thought and closed the knots upon my wrists and 
feet in unyielding pressure. 

“ A great flaming tongue with dagger forks came 
flashing through the lattices, withdrew, then darted 
in again. The cobras hissed. The three about my 
head slipped off the pillow and crawled beneath my 
bed. I heard them coil about her head and roll it 
on the floor, Once — Twice — Thrice! Then back 
again, Once — Twice — Thrice! and then again, an 
endless rolling. 

“A great flaming, darting tongue ; fangs like tusks; 
gloating eyes, gleaming with irridescent venom; broad 


158 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


python head that filled the lattices pushed through 
into my room. The cobras drew the love-knots closer. 

“ I saw his length within his eyes. He came from 
eastward ; passed through the arch beneath the statue 
of Mercy; down the passage between the walls; 
around the eastern buildings ; again, through the 
arch, around the western buildings ; again to the 
arch, through the offices and down the corridor to 
my door. His length was all the distance of his 
windings, and he lay about the Asylum, an awful 
figure eight, crawling in blood. 

“He stopped and laid his head beside the cobra 
in the love-knot, upon the outside rail, then looked 
beneath the bed. Three serpent sounds darted 
about .the *floor, shrieking and seeking escape ; 
crawled up the wall into the room above. I heard 
his tongue lapping the head beneath; I saw the 
swelling throat as it passed through ; the bulging 
body carrying it away. The dreadful words came 
up the lower corridor, then down the ward, and 
stood before my door. They raised their hands and 
prayed, 4 God, send their souls to hell.’ 

“ He laid his head again beside the cobra, shot 
his tongue about my face and touched the wound 
upon my cheek with the dagger forks. I felt the 
intoxicating poison steal through my blood and in 
my brain. The cobras loosed the love-knots. I 
could not move ; could only see and hear. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


159 


“ 1 saw strange scenes and figures come upon the 
python’s head and lighted in flashing colors by his 
eyes. Slowly they came upon the glistening canvas 
as if from hand and brush within his head. 

“A saintly face; a woman’s form; myself upon my 
mother’s lap ; her arms around her child. The 
cobras raised to half their length, .waved back and 
forth, their deadly eyes on mine. The flaming- 
tongue came on my face, the dagger forks drank all 
the tears that filled my eyes and left them burning. 

“Four loving arms entwined; my wife, myself; 
a cloud of shimmering mist before us, that slowly 
changed to shining drapery, pure face, and love-lit 
eyes : our daughter Josephine. Streams of white 
flame poured from the python’s eyes, on either side, 
and made a frame of glory round the three. 

“The cobras laid their heads upon my breast and 
slept. 

“A form of beauty; golden drapery; soft eyes and 
beckoning smile. The cobras nestled. The pearly 
frame had changed to crimson. The head moved 
towards my face, bringing the picture nearer. 

“ Upon her shoulder was a vase and in her hand 
a goblet. She filled and reached it to me. I raised 
myself to take it, but the cobras closed the love- 
knots ; the python hissed an unearthly hiss with 
breath of tempest, and pushed his head through the 
window, his body following swiftly after. His fear- 


160 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 



ful length rushed by me with changing colors, blood, 
and deadly smells. His tail came through the lat- 
tices, and with an awful sweep he 
raised it to the ceiling and plunged 
his sting into my breast, through 
my lungs, my spine, and through 
the bed beneath. The cobras 
untied the love-knots ; stood on 
their coils and drove their fangs in 
either cheek and in my throat. 

“The fiend in blue came in and 
pushed his weapon in my head. 
He is in there with it : the awful 
weapon! Its inner edge is a sickle ; 
its outer edge is a scimitar ; its 
point is a polished needle. 

“ The clock in the landing struck, 
One — Two — Three — Four ! ” 

* * 

* 

Imagination! Ornate fancy! 
Do you think this? 

A man told me who saw and felt 
it all, within the Asylum walls. 



CHAPTER XI. 

Within the dells or on the upland slopes 
No chosen one awaits you, maiden fair ; 

No fairy flits among the groves, O youth ! 

Breathing your name on the enchanted air 

OSEPHINE Haldon 
looked upon the fu- 
ture that was not 
to be as she had 
thought. Content- 
ment might take the 
place of joy, home 
of society, and her 
life be filled with a 
completeness of pur- 

turbed by sorrow 
and disappointment. 
Within reason and the bounds of Intelligent thought 
were all the methods to which she gave considera- 
tion, and with the unbending resolution of her race 
she entered the path of duty. 

. Where she had consoled, she still gave comfort ; 

where she had cheered, she still brought gladness ; 
u 


pose, although dis- 



162 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


where she had met in friendship, she still gave pleas- 
ure ; but where she loved, she was in doubt, deep 
and perplexing. 

Leslie Montford had given her even greater con- 
sideration than before her sorrow, and showed to her 
the cheerful possibilities that still remained in life. 
Devoted and encouraging words came from a gen- 
erous heart, and he gave no intimation of desire for 
any change in their relations, but spoke of their 
future as he would have done had there been no 
intervening trouble. 

What of the future, that dark kingdom controlled 
by unknown rulers ? As the sun of life rises, where 
within its borders shall we find our estate ? Will its 
castle walls be covered by flowering vines, or the 
windows with iron shutters, keeping imprisoned 
souls from liberty ? A great calamity had come upon 
her. She felt its terrors and knew its cause. She 
had seen a man of exalted mind and generous 
thought go into vile places and cover his brain with 
delusion and his soul with blood. Another had come 
to her with heart as clean and mind as elevated, 
and asked her to be his wife. She had pledged her- 
self to him and loved him. The words were given 
by a tongue that had never spoken falsely. 

He had touched the thing that had destroyed her 
father. He apprehended no danger. Is he stronger 
than others? This cannot be. If strength were 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


163 


safety her father would be with her. Could she lead 
him aright ? Would he refrain for her sake and for 
the love she gave him ? Would it be just to ask this ? 
Should not every one stand fimly in the right, leav- 
ing others to strengthen themselves in purity ? 

He said there was no danger in his future ; that he 
had no desire for wine. Why did he taste it ? What 
the benefit and where the need ? She had not known 
of this when she promised. She should have known, 
and now her word was given. Friends and society 
would deride, should she break her troth with one so 
worthy and so exemplary. For what ? they would say ; 
just a little wine occasionally? That is nothing. It 
was much to her. Had she known of this before her 
betrothment she would have crushed the budding 
love and rejected him. Can she do it now, in honor, 
and can the great love she now has ever die ? 

When a woman becomes entangled in the perplexi- 
ties of every-day life, of household, or society, she 
confides in some other woman, and they, together, 
plan a relief ; but when she becomes overwhelmed by 
anxiety and doubts that put their weight upon her 
womanhood, she counsels with a man in whom she 
trusts. Fortunate is she who encounters a true 
manhood. 

Were her father with her, Josephine would seek 
no other adviser; but he was away, out of the world 
of thought. Judge Heron was her father’s adviser 


l 


164 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and she had known him since childhood. She had 
always moved within the circle of his friends and she 
knew their esteem for him. Her father trusted in 
him, and when she was in his presence she felt his 
integrity. Her mother and sisters were in a distant 
part of the city to spend the evening with friends. 
Judge Heron’s residence was but a short distance 
from her home and in the late afternoon she called 
upon him. She said to him that her call was for 
advice only, and he gave her a seat in his library and 
sat before her in a high-backed rocking chair, a sturdy 
relic of his grandfather’s household. 

She explained her mission : 

“Judge Heron, my father is not with me, and I 
need his strength of mind for guidance. My confi- 
dence has led me to you and to your aid. I ask you 
to advise me as he would have spoken. In that 
which concerns my future life I am in doubt and 
would be directed in the right way ; in the way that 
leads to justice for others as well as for myself. I ask 
the result of your thought and judgment in the rela- 
tions of life that pertain to my happiness and that of 
those with whom I associate ; to my duty and its 
application to others ; my duty to myself and the 
action that should control me. Is my clientage a 
welcome one ? ” 

“A delight to me, Josephine. You will pardon 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


165 


me — I called you that before you could speak the 
word.” 

She told him of her engagement ; of its social and 
intellectual propriety ; of the approval of relatives and 
friends ; of the unity of aspiration and thought ; and 
then of the knowledge, coming afterwards, that her 
affianced was not confirmed in the great principle that 
she considered indispensable to the stability of their 
future welfare ; that upon occasions he had drunk the 
thing which had robbed her of a fathers care and 
companionship. What was her obligation to him, 
and to herself? The great comprehensive right was 
what she wished to know. 

Judge Heron said, “The first thought to consider 
lies in the path of duty. What are his obligations to 
you? Not for the present only, but for life? 

“ Let us find the truth. 

“ You bring to him a perfect character, free from 
stain ; a mind established in right thought ; a firm- 
ness of purpose that guarantees to him correct action 
in all the things of life. He takes you with an abso- 
lute certainty that you will meet the requirements of 
every duty that may be yours to perform, not only to 
him, but to yourself, and to the world. He has no 
apprehension of evil in his future life with you, and 
begins it with a sense of security that sees the con- 
tinuance, and the end, as a perfect knowledge. You 
are entitled to the same security ; the same freedom 


166 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


from apprehension ; dnd the same certainty of duties 
to be performed. If he cannot bring you all this to- 
day, he has already failed in his obligations to you. 
A fear of the future is an ever-present calamity. If 
he cannot remove this, he has already darkened your 
life. 

“The next consideration is his duty to your child- 
ren. No words can tell what the eye observes. The 
mind repels description and grasps the object, and 
around the model of action, characters are formed. 
Duty to the child includes everything that elevates, 
and he who puts within its sight a thing that degrades, 
forgets that duty. He tells the child to taste not, 
and partakes himself. The child rejects the precept, 
and awaits an opportunity to comprehend the object. 
Duty to the child requires him to advance his mind 
to all the finer lines of thought that he may give it 
higher pleasures. If he does that which restricts his 
own powers he fails in its requirements. The child 
is entitled to a healthy body, a clear brain, and quiet 
nerves. If he takes that which transmits weakness 
of body, unsoundness of brain, and sentient nerves, 
along the line of his posterity, he not only neglects 
his duty but robs your children of their rights. 

“What are your obligations to him ? 

“You have promised to be his wife. Your word is 
sacred, and must be kept, unless sufficient reason can 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


167 


be shown why you should recall it. Let us find the 
truth. 

“If any part of a maiden’s life is concealed from 
society and friends, she is suspected of a moral mis- 
application of that time, and a swarm of suspicions 
come about her from the social world in which she 
moves. Her good reputation is founded on the 
clear knowledge of her friends and intimates, regard- 
ing the places she is in ; the company in which she is ; 
and what she is doing, at all times. Her virtues and 
tendencies are well known, and he who asks for her 
hand knows precisely what he is contracting for. 
There is nothing more for him # to ascertain, and his 
obligation is binding from the day that he assumes it. 

“ The man who comes to her virtually says that he 
is her equal in morals and in actions. Otherwise, she 
could place herself under no obligation whatever. If 
she accepts him, she does so upon his assertion of 
equality, and that it reaches the standard of her own 
excellence. If he conceals from, or neglects to inform 
her of anything in which he falls below it, her obliga- 
tion ends when that thing is brought to her knowl- 
edge. She cannot know him as he knows her. If 
he steps aside from the path of well-doing, society 
puts a hand over the mouth of him who would pro- 
claim it, and with the other points to his attractions. 
Her only protection is her undoubted right to recede 
when she discovers his defects. You were relieved 


168 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


from all obligations when his tendency was known 
to you.” 

“ If I could know ; if he would assure me — Judge 
Heron, I love him ! ” 

Her head bent forward and her eyes lingered upon 
the hands folded in her lap. 

^ Why do a maiden’s eyes lower when she tells 
another that she loves ? Why does her head droop ? 
Is there shame in love ? 

What was the shadow that came over Judge 
Heron’s face as he put his head against the high back 
of the antique chair, and looked through the window 
at the setting sun, dim through the dust blown over 
the city by a fierce October wind ? What the power 
that clenched his hands upon his knee with inter- 
lacing fingers? Was the sun taking a memory of 
youth with it into the night, and the hands grasping 
the drapery of a dead love to hold her yet longer 
with him ? 

The swaying curtain threw lights and shades over 
the face of the girl before him, as he watched the 
sun sink and the twilight mingle with its shortening 
rays ; then he looked at her and saw the waiting eyes 
asking for help in this her great distress. 

The shadow left his face and lines of thought drew 
about its place. Her eyes asked him to open the 
path of life and show her the way and the truth. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


169 


He had no need to search for it, to say, “Let us find 

it.” He knew it; but how should he tell her? 

% 

What is love ? 

Her enquiry had never defined it. His thought 
had delved among passions and impulses, amid 
emotions and desires, to find their fountains and their 
missions, and he knew of this, the great overpower- 
ing impulse, of its birth and purpose. 

What words could he find for her ear that she could 
know as he knew, and she be not dismayed nor her 
chastity offended ? He knew that honor was within 
her and directed all her movements ; that the traveler 
upon the street could know, as if a herald were walk- 
ing by her side proclaiming it at every step. Could 
he say and not insult? It was her right to hear. 
Prim conventionality had kept from her the things 
she ought to know. He would tell her the truth as 
he had found it. He lighted the jet above his desk, 
pushed away the chair and stood before her. 

“Josephine, you do not love Leslie Montford. 
Stay! Be seated. Hear me to the end and then 
decide against me if you will. 

“The soul has aspirations, the mind has thoughts, 
and the body has desires. The body does not 

reason it grasps. The soul does not reflect — it 

aspires. The mind does both, and mediates. ‘In 
His own image created He them.* This is the trinity. 
The material, the mental, and the Celestial Intelli- 


170 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


gence that needs not reflection nor reason, but com- 
prehends all things. In the domains of that intelli- 
gence there is no giving in marriage. 

“ The unity of sexes is from the impulse of the 
material. Love is an essential positive seeking its 
negative, and the positive and negative are either 
sex. It grasps the universal opposite. It is the 
basis of creation and the bond of companionship. 
The mind should direct it to the individual with 
thought and reflection, comprehending its own needs. 

“Any one — note that I say one, Josephine — any 
one of millions may fulfil all the requirements of any 
one of millions of the opposite sex ; and no especial one 
of either was created to gratify the love of any other 
one. Joyous is the life of those who choose each 
other with their judgment, and doubtful the life of 
those who depend upon love alone to take them to 
the end. The belief that love has its mate some- 
where on earth is spreading sorrow over its face. 
Against thought, and against reason, have its advo- 
cates presented, in story and in verse, the glory of 
the lover and his only love. 

“ From the bright creations of Fielding and Scott, 
through the long list of romance to the inanities of 
the common novel, the one woman has been pursued, 
and the one man waited for. The false idea has 
crawled along the pages and dropped its slime upon 
the brain of the youth and over the heart of the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


171 


maiden. Impelled by its promptings, the gentleman 
mingles his blood with vulgarity, the lady marries the 
profligate, and wrecks upon the sea of matrimony 
outnumber the sails. 

“This belief deceives mankind. It shows to them 
a loving twain who range the world and dare its 
floods and fires to throw themselves into each other’s 
arms. It points to the flowery vales of love along 
their path, and lingers upon the passionate kiss that 
chokes their breath. It nestles among the intertwin- 
ing arms, goes with them to the door of the bridal- 
chamber, and leaves them there. It gives no word 
of the life beyond. Oh ! for an inspiration of truth to 
take them then, and portray the lights and shadows 
of the married life in enticing periods that all would 
read. 

This belief clouds the reason. It keeps the mind 
from contemplation of the future and its require- 
ments ; blinds the eyes to imperfections that become 
offensive ; prevents analysis of character and intel- 
lectual capacity ; hides tendency to wrong and excuses 
crime ; peoples the earth with inferior races, and fills 
its homes with frailty and disease. Raise yourself 
above it, and choose your husband with your judg- 
ment, and not with your impulses.” 

The head that heard bent low. 

Love is shame, if uncontrolled by thought. 


172 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


As Josephine walked to her home, thin clouds of 
smoke with smell of burning pine came around her, 
borne by the autumn gale. From an open space she 
saw, far in the southwest, a great flame rising high 
above the intervening buildings and painting their 
towers and steeples upon its face. Smoking engines, 
wagons with hose and implements of rescue, rushed 
down the streets towards it. Men and boys in 
throngs, on horseback and on foot, hurried to the 
scene. The flames broadened. “An awful fire,” a 
neighbor said ; “ an awful wind, and blowing directly 
on us. A great fire in the same locality last night ; 
the same wind ; and they conquered that. There is 
no danger, not to us. The fire is on the west side, 
two miles away, and two broad rivers are between ; 
also great masses of brick, stone and iron buildings, 
in the business centre. It cannot go beyond them; 
they would check it should it cross the river.” 

She went to her room and gave the fire no further 
heed, except that the smoke penetrated the room and 
annoyed her. The servants said that her mother 
and sisters had not returned, and she went to the 
library and sat in the chair by the commercial desk, 
her father’s chair, and thought. New thoughts had 
come to her, as visitors, to give opinions of herself, 
her acts and purposes. While she thought, the fire 
had seized and devoured the homes of the poor in 
which its first appetite was whetted ; leaped across 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


173 


the river to the storehouses of wealth ; crumbled the 
brick in their walls ; shivered the stones in their foun- 
dations ; torn the iron girders from their ceilings, 
and thrown them about the streets in fantastic shapes. 
The solid centre resisted ; the flames put an arm 
around it to the westward, another to the east, and 
pushed them across the second river and far to the 
north among the mass of wooden shops and tene- 
ments — a monster horse-shoe boding misfortune — 
then slowly drew to itself all within the arms. 

The smoke in the library grew denser ; the house 
was lonely. “ Where is the maid ? ” Josephine called, 
and found her gone. She heard wagons rattling by. 
“ Nothing unusual ; this is a great city and noise is 
its speech.” 

The air grew dense and hot A sharp sound like 
a pistol shot rang through the parlors. She went 
into them, alarmed, and by her side another pistol 
sound, and the heavy paper on the wall parted in a 
broad seam from ceiling to wainscot; the gas jets 
slowly sank and disappeared as- if drawn into the 
pipes ; lines of deep crimson came about the borders 
of the window shades. She raised one and looked 
upon the street ; shrank back, and looked again with 
the fascination of terror. 

Above, a lowering stream of burning smoke, thick 
with sparks, flaming boards, and shingles, covered all 
the distance within her sight and flew over the city 


174 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


before the wind, dropping from its burden of flame, 
flecks of fire, and showers of sparks, upon the streets 
and houses below it. A burning mass like flying 
cloth fell upon a house across the street, and the 
flames flashed over the shingles and lapped the roofs 
beyond. 

“A woolen cloak, a run to the lake, and I am safe.” 
She put it on and drew its hood over her head ; looked 
a farewell to all her parlor treasures, and went out into 
the burning world. 

“Goodbye, my home!” and even as she spoke a* 
flame leaped through an attic window and down upon 
the slated roof. 

Swift footsteps came to her side, and to her ear an 
exclamation of mingled fear and joy, “ My Josephine ! 
You live and may be saved ! ” Leslie Montford took 
her hand and the race for life began. 

Behind them a solid wall of fire ; the roar of fall- 
ing walls, and crashing timbers. On the left a line of 
flames streamed over the wooden buildings that lined 
the streets beyond and reached far to the north. 
Between them and the lake, another line of 'fire of 
slower pace than that to the westward ; that flew, 
this ran. Could they outstrip it and pass around ? 
The solid residences and their ample grounds held 
back the fire and gave them hope. Even as hope 
became assurance they saw flames spreading among 
the mass of buildings before them, to the north. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 175 

Their heated wood had dried to tinder in the long 
hot blast that poured among them, and one fired by- 
sparks from the cloud above, flashed into flames that 
in a moment enveloped blocks. The line of fire to 
the east joined the northern mass, and all about them 
was a sea of fire ; fire in the air above. 

Thick, blinding smoke, dust and ashes, cinders and 
sparks, drove against them upon the southwest 
tempest. Hot currents from the mass of fire around 
them scorched their breath ; then cooler eddies from 
the lake swept over them, parting the cloud above. 

1 ‘ Miss Josephine, your dress is on fire.” A boy 
caueht the folds of her cloak in his hands and rubbed 
out the smouldering flame. “Miss Josephine, I 
could not get home to mother. I thought you might 
need me to help you. Mister Leslie, can we ever 
save Miss Josephine? It is so hot my tongue is dry. 
Mister Leslie, where can we take her ? See the sparks 
on your hat ; throw them off! See that row of 
houses on fire! Miss Josephine’s house was most 
burned up when I got there. We must get her from 
this or she will be burned. If Miss Josephine dies it 
will kill my mother. See ! the street is on fire where 
that burning board fell. The streets over here are 
all wooden blocks and they laid them in tar ; they 
will all burn, too ; streets and houses and all. We must 
take her somewhere. It’s so hot, it seems like fire 
inside me when I breathe. Mister Leslie, what are 


176 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


you thinking about? We must get where there is 
some water or something. Mister Leslie ! Miss Jose- 
phine is sick.” 

Overcome by terror and heat, she put hpr hand on 
Montford’s shoulder and her weight against him. 

“ Leslie, tell my mother, my sisters, and my father — 
O, my father!” 

Her head fell and his arms were about a helpless 
form. 

“ Mister Leslie, take her to that greenhouse; may 
be it is cooler in there among the flowers. Anyway, 
the thick glass will keep away the sparks and fire 
that’s falling;” and Henry Temple pointed to a green- 
house near the corner of a large brick mansion within 
a broad lawn fronting the street. 

“The chance of a shipwrecked mariner in mid- 
ocean.” 

With this thought Montford raised Josephine in 
his arms, ran down the graveled walk and pushed 
away the light door of the greenhouse. The heat 
was more intense than that without. Through the 
heavy glass came floods of heat that wilted the roses 
and shriveled their leaves, and the damp ground 
smoked as from fires underneath. He put his head 
against her heart and heard it beating. 

“She lives ; but when the flames close around us 
death will come with them.” 

Heroic men see death inevitable and are serene. 




THERE IS NO PANG TO LEAVE THE WORLD AND GO WITH HER. 





THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


177 


He would die with her he loved, and was content. 
He put his face to hers and kissed her cheek, her 
eyelids, and her forehead. His lips were parched 
and left a mark of blood where he had kissed. 

“ I would give it all to save her ; pour it upon her 
face to cool the air she breathes. What is the agony 
of death ? There is none if she dies ; no pang to 
leave the world and go with her.” 

A child’s voice aroused him. 

“ Mister Leslie, there is water here. I drank 
some and it made me cold; the air is cooler. Here, 
from this pipe I’ll bring some in the flower pot for 
Miss Josephine.” 

Montford sprinkled the water over her face and 
head ; dripped it into her mouth ; laid her upon the 
ground, and poured the rest about her head. He 
went to the pipe, and from the lessening stream filled 
the empty flower pots that lay upon a shelf near by, 
then sprinkled their contents over the floor, the 
tables, and the flowers. When he returned to Jose- 
phine she was sitting upon the ground looking about 
her, at the flowers and at the crimson light that glit- 
tered above her head. The water had struck a pane 
of glass in the corner next the mansion, and it shiv- 
ered, falling half way. Through the opening they 
saw the mansion on fire ; flames pouring through the 
doors and windows. The roof fell into the raging 


12 


178 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


flame beneath it, but the staunch old-fashioned walls 

stood as perfect as before. 

# # 

# 

The fire had passed, the wind had changed its 
course, and they looked out upon the gray morning 
of disaster. To the lake, to the north, and south- 
ward as far as eye could reach, was smouldering 
ruin. In the distant west, buildings and steeples 
traced their outlines through the misty smoke. 
Around them, scorched grass, shriveled evergreens, 
shattered sculpture and the bare walls of the man- 
sion, enclosed a narrow strip of lawn, fresh in its 
vendure and holding in its midst the lowly green- 
house, with shivered pane and blistered paint, its 
flowers smiling through the glass. 


Note. — On a block bordered by Clark street and near Chestnut 
(after the great fire of October, 1871 1, a greenhouse, but thirty feet 
from the ruined walls of a large brick mansion, stood intact, except 
the cracked glass and blistered paint. The flowers were but little 
affected by the heat. 


CHAPTER XII. 


JUDGE HERON’S NARRATIVE. 

IAD received another 
invitation to visit 
Haldon, this time 
from himself I was 
pleased to accept it, 
not only for his sake, 
but also to gratify a 
desire to acquire a 
deeper knowledge of 
insanity and its 
causes. Upon my 
first visit I had ob- 
served that my pre- 
vious impressions of Asylum life were erroneous, in 
whole and in detail, and that the operation of in- 
sanity differed entirely from the popular idea of its 
demonstrations. 

I found restraint and confinement legalized, but 
the law did not describe insanity, I saw it defined in 
the lexicon as madness ; but I had seen the people 
around me in gentle conversation and friendly action. 



180 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


I heard an orator say, “ Insanity is a living death,” 
but I had seen hopes and aspirations cover the glow- 
ing pages of the monomaniacs’ manuscript ; emotions 
of joy and sorrow upon their faces, and tears of sym- 
pathy in their eyes. I had read in history that the 
madman of our earlier civilization received blows 
about his head, or a sudden fright ; then raved about 
the earth with glaring eyes, clenched hands and rend- 
ing teeth. He was put into a mad-house ; covered 
with chains ; and all of his companions were the 
same as he. 

Later, history says, the lunatic appeared. The 
madmen still were there, but excess of joy or sorrow 
brought the other. The doors closed upon him and 
he was put in places where the maniacs could not 
seize him. He jibbered and laughed, shouted and 
grimaced, swung his arms about and pointed to the 
moon. His home was called a Lunatic Asylum,” 
and he was treated kindly. 

Now, others come, in swelling numbers, with all 
the list of causes for their entertainment that the 
brain and nerve centers can suggest. They bring 
their trunks, their pictures and their books, and hail 
the one who receives them with unbroken words in 
sentences of reason. He courteously conducts them 
to their rooms and calls their habitation “ Asylum 
for the Insane.” He is about to change the name 
to “Hospital for Mental Diseases.” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


181 


There are no chains nor ropes, iron nor stays, put 
upon his body; neither does he rend nor bite, and 
never grimaces nor points towards the moon. But 
he has need of care and watchful eyes are constantly 
upon him. At times, his trembling body cowers in 
fear ; again, his eyes flame and he would plunge the 
homicidal dagger to the heart; now, he mourns with 
melancholy tears and seeks to waste his blood in 
suicide. The lock is turned upon his door and he is 
left alone, without the means of harm. Soon he 
appears in halls and groves, and talks and acts as 
other men. 

Whence come these later guests? Monomania, 
Melancholia, Hysteria, and all their nervous brothers 
and sisters. I will ask them, “What is insanity, and 
why did it come to you ?” 

I arrived upon a Christmas day, and Dr. Peters 
said to me that Haldon was improving and that his 
friends might hope for his recovery. The serenity 
of mind in which I would find him might be disturbed 
at any time by the recurrence of the mania from which 
he suffered, at periods not uniform in their appear- 
ance or intensity ; and if I conversed with him, that 
I must avoid all subjects tending to emotion. 

Revolution and reconstruction ! The words came 
to my tongue in exclamation as I grasped the hand 
of a John Haldon whom I had never seen. To the 
flushed and disquiet face had come serenity and tints 


182 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


of health ; to the dulled eye of stimulation, the fires 
of comprehension ; and to the gross form, the sym- 
metry of manhood. I answered his questions to 
everything that he wished to know from the outside 
world, and gave him a cheerful assurance of my belief 
in his recovery ; wished him a merry Christmas, to 
which he responded. Placing his hand over his eyes, 
as if to hide the light, he took my arm and said, 
aside, “We all say that we should be at home to-day. 
Come to my room ; the others must not hear.” 

He sat upon the bed with the frame of iron pipe ; 
and with nervous gestures and confidential manner, 
he said, “ I will tell you all about my trouble. That 
terrible weapon is still in my head with the fiend. I 
would not care for him if he would lose the weapon. 
How do I know ? I can shut my eyes and see every- 
thing that is in my head. I will tell you what is 
there and what he does with the weapon. There is 
a man in there, just like myself, and his brain is my 
soul. He has a mouth, and a stomach, and eats 
words that go in at my ears, and sights that go in at 
my eyes, and the fiend stands there with that awful 
weapon and cuts the words and sights, and mutilates 
them so that they will not digest. The awful weapon ! 
Its inner edge is a sickle ; its outer edge is a scimitar ; 
and its point is a polished needle.” 

He clasped his head in his hands and gave me a 
wild, earnest look. The monomaniac in the lower 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


183 


ward shouted his curse, “ Godsend their souls to hell !” 
and a strange feeling crept over me, as if I was float- 
ing away from the world of sense. An attendant who 
was passing by, noticed Haldon and motioned for 
me to come from the room, saying afterwards, “He 
is in his delusions. Sit near his door and you will 
hear them.” • 

He gave no heed to my departure, and still sat 
upon the bed where I could see and hear him. I saw 
his face change from gladness to grief, from kindness 
to flashes of murder, then assume the glory of rever- 
ence and prayer. He took me with him into the 
realms of his mania. 

“ Oh, Christ ! this is your day of joy, and I am 
happy with you. The fiend has plunged his weapon 
through the thought. I curse you that you was ever 
born, and sorrow that I ever knew you. Go from my 
thought. I hope the fiend will strike you down and 
pierce you with his awful weapon as he has done to 
me. I shrink not from you. Leave me or I will rend 
your body and destroy your soul. He is gone. The 
fiend is sleeping.” 

He stopped, sat long in thought, and then began : 

“ Oh, beautiful day ! God help me enjoy and take 
my love, a guerdon, to those I love, to those who 
think of me. Their arms should be around me and 
my kiss upon their lips. My hand should brush 
away their tears, and — Hell is my home, for that will 


184 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


burn the fiend and melt his awful weapon. It would 
be a peaceful home, for fiends without could never 
pierce as the one within ; and all its flaming horrors 
and its sulphurous smoke would soothe and lull to 
sleep.” 

He arose and paced the floor, and then sat again 
upon his bed. « 

“ My Christ, I pray with you and them ; your 
prayer. Our Father which art in Heaven ; hallowed 
be Thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be 
done on earth as it is in Heaven. There is no 
Heaven ! It is a wish. There is naught but fiends 
who mock and weapons that cut their way into the 
soul and destroy it, that it need not Heaven.” 

He ran his fingers through his hair as if to tear it, 
and then grew calmer. 

“ Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us 
our debts as we forgive our debtors. The bread is 
poison and feeds the fiend who rises with its strength 
and plunges deeper wounds in all my thoughts. 
Take it away and feed me upon stifling vapors or 
the fumes of alcohol. These would choke his breath 
and he would die. Stay ! the awful weapon would be 
there. It cuts without his hand to guide ; cuts when 
he sleeps. Can aught destroy them both? God 
owes debts to me and pays me not. He owes me 
peace and joy, but sends me rage and sorrow, and 
brings a fiend who stands above my soul and wastes 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


185 


its food ; who mocks me when I turn to him for help 
and bids me wait and die ; and then a flaming weapon, 
reaching space, will pierce my soul where’er I go ; 
and God will keep its edges sharp and smooth its 
glittering point.” 

He raised his hands above his head, and tones of 
anguish filled his room knd rang along the corridor. 

“ Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from 
evil.” 

His clenched hands fell to his side and the strain- 
ing muscles relaxed. He laid his head upon the 
pillow and slept. A smile came upon his face that 
bore the peace and hope of Bethlehem. 

# # 

# 

While Haldon slept I took the privilege accorded 
me by Dr. Peters, to converse with others in the 
ward for the purpose of study, and approached a 
man who sat by a window, seemingly in thought. 
He told me that he was a Prussian and spoke my 
language with a purity that shamed my scholarship. 
After an interchange of views relating to subjects of 
ordinary thought, he recited memories of college 
days ; referred to German social life and told the 
story of its movement, illustrating with interesting 
episodes ; then dwelt on deeper themes, of* philosophy 
and metaphysics. He overcame my weaker argu- 
ment with powerful thought in sentences of sense. 
I felt that I had erred and that he was a visitor. 


186 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


When he left me I questioned an attendant, who 
said : 

“ He is a patient and has been here for years — six 
or thereabout. He is a very intelligent man, but he 
has his spells.” 

Spells ! Is insanity then a spell ? What brings 
the spell ? 

Afterwards, I saw the Prussian sitting in a corner 
of his room, upon the floor ; his head between his 
knees and his hands clasped around them, moaning 
and sobbing, sighing and shedding tears. This was 
a spell. Hours passed, and he was still sitting as 
before, moaning and shedding tears. 

I found another who would talk, a native of my 
own State. He told me that his ancestors came 
upon the Mayflower , and that he was an American, 
through a long line of ancestry. Education claimed 
his notice. His thoughts were deep and broad. 
Churches were mentioned. With eloquent tongue 
and sacred thought he spoke about their influence 
for good. His speech was clean and had the phase 
of schools. He drew to himself an audience from all 
about the ward, and with pleasing words he brought 
pleasure to all who listened. 

He had ‘a spell. He neither sobbed nor moaned, 
and did not sigh, nor shed a tear. He struck a 
brother patient without a warning word ; then the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 187 

attendants conquered him and strapped him to the 
iron bedstead. 

He drew upon the straps, and tried to break away, 
but when he found they would not yield, he filled 
the rooms and corridors with threats of vengeance, 
a horrid talk of knives and guns. He cursed and 
called his Maker names, and shouted his imprecations 
to all his friends, in the language of the slums. Then 
he was quiet. An attendant went to his room } 
unbuckled the restraints, helped him to his feet, and 
went away. He came into the corridor, rubbing his 
hands and wrists, stretched his form and took a seat 
among the rest, then talked and smiled as he had 
done before. Spells are not all alike. Does every 
nation have its own ? 

A smiling face. A rotund form. A Napoleon in 
attitude. I asked the Frenchman if he spoke Eng- 
lish. He answered that he did ; and German, Ital- 
ian or Spanish, as well as French. I found in him a 
boundless knowledge of men and things ; a history 
of travels and a chronicle of wars. With clear des- 
cription and intelligent comment he showed me 
through the world and took me upon its battle-fields. 
To all he said, he politely asked my superior judg- 
ment to tell him if he erred. 

As I talked with others, he came to me as another 
man, and said that I had insulted him and must apolo- 
gize. His body trembled and his face was shining 


188 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


with excitement. He swung his arms and worked 
his fingers in nervous contortions. His eyes were 
clear and sparkling and danced about in their sockets. 
An attendant took him by the arm, led him to his 
room and locked the door upon him. He walked 
back and forth before his bed, almost ran, stamped 
his feet and sputtered in mingled languages ; then he 
stood by the lattices and threw floods of impoliteness 
upon me in his native tongue. This was his spell. 

Within a room near by I heard the jarring con- 
sonants of Scandinavia roll out in verses of myth- 
ology. A scholar from the chills of Norway, large 
boned and muscular. 

He told me that he had finished his studies and 
gone from home to see the world ; that when he 
reached America he found so many of his race who 
were needing the thought and guidance of those more 
fortunate than they in culture and in education ; that 
he had remained and built them schools and churches, 
and taught them their duties to the country of 
their adoption, its people and its laws ; that they 
were now a prosperous folk and happy, and that he 
was repaid for all his care and zeal in their behalf. 
When he was thirty-five, he said, strange feelings 
came over him at times, that were not sicknesses, 
but seemed to be a faltering of life. He wished to 
work again among those he loved, and hoped that 
his trouble would soon pass away. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


189 


Even as he spoke the muscles on his face grew 
rigid ; his eyelids covered half his sight and stopped ; 
the blue below grew pale and dull, and underneath, the 
white was gleaming pearl. His hands came up before 
his face ; his joints were stiffened and held them 
there without a movement ; his back pressed firmly 
on his chair, and his legs were straightened as though 
an iron tube was pushed its length around the bones. 
He sat with all the quiet and firmness of a statue ; 
the statue of a spell. No attendant noticed him. 
He needed nothing. An hour passed by, and again 
I heard the fabled story of Odin and of Thor. 

Haldon had awakened, but the time had arrived 
when I must go away, and I left him with a promise 
to see him upon the morrow. I noted his clear 
expressions and natural speech, and had faith that 
Dr. Peters’ hope for his recovery was well founded. 
But what of his spells and the terrible weapon ? 

As I thanked the Doctor for the privilege accorded 
me for observation, he handed me a card upon which 
was written an order to one of Haldon’s attendants 
directing him to escort me to the evening entertain- 
ment at the Amusement Hall, saying that I would 
find it a pleasant object lesson and this was the best 
opportunity that could be given me for conversation 
with, or observation of the female patients. 

The Amusement Hall is connected with the female 
department and is used by the more quiet patients, 


190 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


on Sundays, as a chapel, when ministers of different 
denominations occupy the platform, and at other times 
as a place for social reunions, musical entertainments, 
and dancing. As this evening was to be devoted to 
dancing, I requested the attendant to present me to 
some lady of intelligence who was connected with 
the Asylum, but who did not choose to dance. This, 
because I wished to gain all the information possible 
in the limited time allowed me. 

That all action differed from that of my expecta- 
tion, I need not say ; but that I should find myself at 
home in social surroundings was not what I had 
thought. In nothing was the gathering much infe- 
rior, and in some things vastly superior to those in 
which the outside world enjoy their pleasures. 

I found among the attendants and the patients, 
character and culture, intelligence and graceful action ; 
and above these, kindness and regard for others. 
The words upon the panels of the balcony, Benevo- 
lence, Hope, Charity, Forbearance, took upon them- 
selves a deeper meaning, and the rays of light from 
the massive chandelier above the hall seemed to centre 
their glory directly on them. All around me, I saw 
the motto of the Asylum in moving harmonies, “ Do 
unto others as you would that they should do unto 
you.” 

Pleasant visitors mingled with the others as a part 
of a united whole, and in nowise did they consider 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


191 


the entertainment to be an exhibition of weakness, 
but rather an effort of strength to help materialize the 
words that illuminated the panels of the balcony. 

The attendant introduced me to a quiet lady who 
was dressed in black, with no ornaments, except 
a plain gold band upon a finger of her left hand. 
When she was thinking she turned it slowly round 
and round with the thumb and finger of her right. 
Always when she ceased to talk, the thumb and 
finger sought the ring. 

As I took my seat beside her, traces of care and 
shades like sorrow could be seen about her face, but 
as the strains of the opening march sounded through 
the hall, her eyes lighted with flashes of pleasure. 

The lady said that music and the dance brought 
rays of light and gleams of sunshine into the dark- 
ness of the souls around us. Dark, when the light 
of reason showed them the joys and ecstasies afar off 
where they could not reach ; and the gloom of dark- 
ness, when delusions came and mingled with the 
reason that they might be felt, and the victim know 
that she was accursed. 

Her voice was pleasing; as she spoke it swelled 
in unison with the music, but a shiver mingled with 
its tones that sometimes seemed to be a dread, and 
then a sorrow. I thought that sympathy had at- 
tuned her voice to the suffering that had surrounded 
her, perhaps, for many years. I told her that I 


192 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


wished to know the inner life of those with whom 
her duties gave companionship ; to hear their words 
and know their ways ; especially, to find if their 
moods and delusions were identical with those of 
men. 

The lady said that women’s woes came to her in 
greater numbers and were more grievous than those 
of men ; that her burdens were all of theirs, with 
others that they knew not of. Hysteria, and other 
forces, kept with her in the days of reason, and made 
her seasons of quiet worse than her spells. 

I asked the lady to tell me of the spells, what they 
were and what had caused them. She said, ‘‘God, 
only, knows the cause.” 

The music ceased, the dancers left the floor ; she 
rolled the band of gold around her finger and looked 
at the empty space where they had danced. Another 
measure, and long streams of dancers moved to the 
rhythms of Germany. Still, she looked across the 
floor and turned the ring. The waltz was over and 
other dancers came. The lady said that she had 
forgotten what I asked. 

“ O, yes ! the spells, and what they were.” 

“They differed much,” she said. “Yes; perhaps 
they did in nationalities.” 

She had seen a German girl, with folded hands 
upon her lap and streams of tears pouring from her 
eyes, sit for hours, perhaps a day, and moan, and say 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


193 


that she was about to die, and ask the attendant to 
dress her in black and bury her under the willows 
where the leaves could drop their tears upon her 
grave. Then she would sob, and moan, and say 
that death was terrible to one so young. The lady 
said that I had an opportunity to see her when she 
was free from delusions, as she was near us in the 
dance. 

I heard her cheery laugh and saw the paints of 
health amid the smiles she gave to those around her. 

II Perhaps,” the lady said, “ melancholy is peculiar 
to the insanity of the German women, as she had seen 
others, not so young or strong as this one, who did 
little else but mourn ; and now that I had directed 
her attention to this, she remembered that all the 
women differ as their nationalities do.” 

The French woman having her full reason would 
be vivacious and polite ; while under the influence of 
spells, she would range about the ward in nervous 
antics, with excited speech, insult the others, and 
oblige her attendants to put her in her room and 
keep her there until she was quiet. 

“ Some Scandinavian women,” the lady said, 
“ would stop in the middle of a cheerful sentence and 
twist their features, then stare with sightless eyes 
and put their arms and bodies into strange positions.” 

“ The American woman, did you say ?” 


13 


194 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


A frown came upon the lady’s face, somewhat of 
pain and much of sorrow, with a tinge of reproach ; 
and as she rolled the ring upon her finger and looked 
out among the dancers, I thought she was displeased 
that I should wish to know about the delusive actions 
of her countrywomen. 

Within the quadrille near by us, was a tall, grace- 
ful woman with evidences of culture and education 
upon her face, and in all her movements. She had 
been sought as a partner by some of the most gentle- 
manly visitors and attendants, and had been a centre 
for conversation during the intermissions. Her 
manner gave assurance that she was accustomed to 
the usages of good society. I noticed her in agreea- 
ble action toward others in the set, and but a moment 
afterwards she pushed her partner from her and fol- 
lowed as if to strike or do other injury. He caught 
her by the wrists, and then she screamed and sat 
upon the floor, and tried to strike him with her feet. 
Three of the attendant ladies went to her and 
attempted to lift her up. She drew her hands away 
from her partner, caught their dresses and tore them, 
and tried to scratch and bite their hands. The music 
ceased. She was finally conquered. As she was 
carried through the hall and out at the door, she cov- 
ered all the audience with epithets and reproaches. 

After she had gone, the music and the dance 
were resumed. The lady stopped rolling the ring, 
















••• ++ 













•** «•»*> — -• •-*— »-• - . ... 




























































































THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


195 


turned to me and said, “You have the answer ; she 
is an American.” 

I asked the lady if any women were there because 
of the use of wine or other alcoholic drinks, and she 
said there were, and that some were born with the 
taste of alcohol upon their tongues. One was near us 
who, if she could be induced to tell her story, would 
cause me horror as she traced her life. She would 
never tell it to a stranger, but if I cared to listen, the 
lady said that she would take the woman’s place and 
tell me the story as it had been told to her. 

“ My mother’s father was a drunkard. Her life 
was filled with care until she was married to my 
father. No wine was ever in my mother’s home. 
My father never used it. When I was seven years 
of age, and while playing with a schoolmate in the 
dining-room of her home, I saw a bottle upon the 
sideboard, and beside it stood a glass. I read upon 
the label of the bottle ‘V. Q. P.’ I asked my play- 
mate what this meant. She answered that she did 
not know its meaning, except that it was a kind of 
wine which her father drank at the table. She had 
tasted it, but the taste Was unpleasant and she could 
not know why her father should wish to drink it. 
Impelled by childish curiosity, I poured a little into 
the glass, and as I inhaled its perfume I knew it was 
the unknown thing for which I had longed since my 
babyhood. I filled the glass and drank. I was about 


196 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


to fill it again, but my playmate checked me, and 
called a servant who took the wine from me and 
locked it in the side-board. When my mother knew 
of this, she took me in her arms and tried to speak 
to me, but her voice was choked, and I felt her tears 
drop among the curls about my head and trickle 
down upon my neck.” 

The lady ceased her story and fixed her eyes upon 
the ring, which she slowly rolled around her finger 
with a hand that trembled and could scarce retain 
its grasp. As I turned from her and looked out to 
the dancers, they seemed to be amid a mist, and the 
lancers music throbbed among them in sobs and 
plaintive strains. 

Soon the lady touched my arm and said to me that 
she would tell the rest. 

“In all my girlhood days I had no thoughts of 
wrong but this, that I would gratify my desire for 
wine or other drinks, though all the world should 
frown upon me. For this I heeded not my fathers 
command nor my mother’s prayers. My school days 
passed ; then in society a flattering attention was 
given me, for I was fair and the mistress of many 
accomplishments. One came to me who touched my 
heart, who laughed when told that wane would lead to 
wrong. I went with him to social gatherings, to 
theatres and balls. One night, after an opera, I 
went with him to a popular caf& With our supper 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


107 


my escort ordered wine. Upon the label of the bot- 
tle were the letters that held my childish curiosity. 
I drank with him. He urged another, and I drank ; 
then others. I thought that ecstacies were in the 
bottles depths, but — Oh, God ! ” 

A look of pain was on the lady’s face, that had the 
seeming of a sudden sickness. As I touched the 
fan upon her lap, she pushed my hand away and 
resumed her story. 

“That day I was the angel of a home ; the next, a 
thing of shame. I could not bear to look upon my 
father’s face nor in my mother’s eyes, and made 
excuses for a friendly visit ; then took the train and 
went away and hid myself in the depths of the great 
city over yonder. I drowned my thoughts of them 
in wine ; myself I cared not for. Soon came dis- 
ease, the Creator’s brand of shame. I went to 
lower places : the concert room, the dance house ; 
the hovel, and the street ; from its gutters men took 
me up and brought me here.” 

“ She always ends the story thus, and then she 
says, * Is mine the blame? I have asked my God 
and he has told me, no!’ 

“ The most of those about us,” the lady said, “ are 
not afflicted with insanity until middle age, and then 
they must leave their homes, perhaps forever. This 
is a direful thought, that women must be taken from 
their homes and those whom they love and put away 


198 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


in places where the only joy is hope, while all around 
their lives gathers the gloom of night. In the dark- 
ness of that night the mother prays for her children 
to come and take her from the demons and put her 
among the angels of her home ; but the children 
cannot hear. The daughter calls aloud for her 
mother to take her in her arms and sing the songs of 
childhood to calm the raging fear that fills her sleep- 
less nights ; but the mother is in the village church- 
yard, and the tongue that sang her lullaby is dust. 
The wife pleads for the husband’s arms to hold her 
in their loving folds, and shield her from the forms 
of evil that gather around her bedside ; to take her 
with him to the peaceful light of their own fireside 
and bring her babies to her that she may feel their 
soft faces press against her bosom. ” 

The dance was ended and the strains of “Sweet 
Home” floated through the hall. I saw a tear cling 
to the lady’s eyelashes, then draw away and pass 
slowly along her cheek and drop upon the hand that 
rolled the band of gold upon her finger, round and 
round. She went away with the others, and I talked 
awhile with the attendant who came with me. He 
told me that the lady was a patient who had been 
there for years and would never go away until she 
was taken over yonder to the cypresses. 

A new face came to my vision. Among its lines 
and shades I traced the anguish of another story. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


199 


The tear glistened with another light, and the band 
of gold rolled over the course of memories. As I 
walked through the grove fronting the Asylum, the 
soft moonlight threw lights and shadows upon the 
winding walks, that took the forms of drapery, out- 
stretched arms, and pleading faces that gazed upon 
me from their beds of frosted ice ; from far above a 
woman s scream pierced through the chilling air, and 
all around me, among the evergreens, I heard the 
shivering tones of the lady’s voice. 

When I arrived at the Asylum the next morning, 
Haldon’s attendant said that he believed my Christ- 
mas visit had been harmful, as Haldon had been 
joining religious action and Christmas talk with the 
delusion of weapon and fiend, ever since I came. 

Doctor Peters decided that my second visit should 
be ended, and as I went again among the people of 
the city I thought I saw the inmates of the Asylum 
walking upon the streets. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


No dreamer she, with languid air. 

VOLUME,* pro- 
found and statis- 
tical, shows to us 
that tendency of 
thought is an an- 
cestral gift. Be- 
liefs are strength- 
ened by inherited 
prejudice. False 
beliefs have come 
from the savage, 
through the gen- 
erations of civilization, to the brain of the otherwise 
enlightened man. and grasp his intellect with all the 
force, with modified brutality, that held the savage 
mind to its control 

The savage man said that woman was his inferior 
and oppressed her. She bore him children and 
nourished them, while he ranged the forest and 



*Galton’s “Hereditary Genius . 3 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


201 


developed bone and muscle. His belief arose from 
tests of physical strength. 

The civilized man added other indignities. He 
asserted that her mentalities were inferior to his own 
endowment. He treasured her beauty and trained 
it to his own enjoyments. He adorned her to the 
envy of his fellows ; shut her out from self-support ; 
gave her bangles to play with, then taunted her that 
she could not use the pen. 

The enlightened orator steps upon the platform 
with the same false belief fastened on his brain, and 
constructs his argument to agree with it ; then 
mourns that half the world must delve in the mines 
of thought for gems to dazzle the wondering eyes of 
the other half. 

The enlightened minister stands within his pulpit 
and looks out upon those who are the morality and 
the Christianity of his flock ; the strength and sup- 
port of his religion ; and trusts that Providence may 
be good to them, as they are weak and can only go 
as they are led ; can only see as they are directed, 
and are as vines twining around the giants of intel- 
lectual forests. 

Not wholly enlightened are those gentlemen of 
the platform and pulpit who still have traces of the 
barbarian belief in their brains. Let us find the 
truth and disturb that belief. 

The only reason for the apparent mental superi- 


202 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


ority of man, is his opportunity for the exercise of 
consecutive thought directed to the accomplishment 
of a single purpose. 

The youth meets a maiden in the Academy. Does 
he take all the honors to himself? He is fortunate 
if he keeps within her range, and consoles his failure 
with another false belief that fastens itself upon un- 
thinking minds, namely, that a woman’s brain is only 
capable of a limited knowledge, and that she receives 
it quickly, while he can continue in mental advance- 
ment through life. Let us enlighten him. 

This is because of her want of opportunity, and 
not because of her lack of capacity. 

Both marry. He puts all of his thought and 
energy into one business or profession, and develops 
his intellectual powers by the training derived from 
consecutive thought. Her thought is distracted by 
the demands of household, society, children, and, 
may it please you, the comfort and happiness of the 
one who is now drawing away from her in mental 
culture by reason of his concentrated mental effort. 
When she frees herself and pursues his methods, she 
stands beside him in intellectual rank. Journalist, 
writer, lawyer, whatever mental work he does, so 
can she as well. 

The girl who has completed her school education 
stands the intellectual equal of the man who has com- 
pleted his, in the same line of study. She is trained 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


203 


in consecutive thought, and should now — if she 
intends to marry — put that quality of thought upon 
the problem of a husband, the same as she did upon 
mathematics, for the purpose of learning correct 
results ; and if she be not in haste, marriage need 
not be a lottery. 

Not by training only, but by experience, had Jose- 
phine Haldon acquired the habit of thought that 
leads to just and reasonable conclusions ; and as she 
sat in the parlor of her temporary home, and looked 
out upon the driving snow as it whirled among the 
trees and over the evergreens of Union Park, she 
thought of the flowers that were, and the desolation 
that now covered them, and that a life might be read 
from the flowers to the snow and chills ; or it might 
develop from the dreariness of winter to the verdure 
and foliage of summer. Is not the direction within 
our control ? 

She thought of Leslie Montford and his earnest 
pleadings that she should put aside the coldness that 
had come upon her love ; her love ! she shivered as 
Judge Heron’s words came to her memory; then 
thought of Helen Temple and her warning, “ Better 
to build you a hut in a churchyard and commune with 
the dead, than to be in the arms of one whose soul is 
dying, day by day.” With a clear knowledge of the 
life that degrades womanhood, all women would 
dwell alone and never accept it. The great good of 


204 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


life, is to give and receive happiness. This is of the 
Divinity. Thoughts still came. 

“ Why should a woman leave a sure happiness to 
follow one that promised to be greater, unless its 
enchantments could be seen as a certainty? Should 
she not walk in paths that were firm to the foot- 
steps, even if the flowers grew only here and there 
along their borders ? If the chart of experience that 
marked the paths of life showed a danger signal upon 
the entrance of one, why should a woman put her 
foot upon it to take the chances of escape, where 
others had been overwhelmed ? All men are alike 
by nature, and only differ in the conceit with which 
they regard their power to resist the encroachments 
of an evil which they tamper with. None are sure, 
but those who never touch the evil and abhor it. 

“ He saved my lifa He gave my senses all that 
is beautiful on earth. If I give myself to him as a 
recompense, and my mind and soul go not with me, 
the trust of one is betrayed, and the life of the other 
is a fear. And the others that gather around our 
fireside and look to us for happiness — shall I mourn 
with them the sorrows that may be ? Better to 
leave them in the realms of the uncreated, where, if 
joys are not, anguish never is. 

“ He tells me of the greenhouse ; of his content 
to die with me ; of the joy and flood of love which 
came upon him when he knew that I was saved. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


205 


Does he love himself, with the love that cleanses from 
impurities and fits him for the love that I could give, 
but which is now unsatisfied ? or is he thoughtless of 
himself, and does he look upon our betrothal as a 
rapture of the heart, and upon me as an exemplar, a 
monitor, for the moral conduct of our family ? Does 
he look upon our danger as a romance of love ? 

“ The romance of the greenhouse was that of life 
or death, and not of love. The love that lights the 
pathway to the end has no romance. The truth 
shines upon its impulses and the mind directs its 
gratifications and restraints. Thoughts cluster around 
its cradle and give the nourishment of strength. It 
is trained in the school of reason and its abode is for- 
ever with the intelligences. It blends the two in one 
as the oceans join and remain together ; not as the 
rills unite and evaporate. A union of the hearts 
and minds of a man and a woman, builds a home where 
love dwells in security with them and theirs. A 
union of the hearts only, spreads a tent upon the 
fields of passion, while the mind may be a wanderer, 
seeking its approved companion. 

“One alone, with purity of thought and action; 
with stability of character and exalted principles ; 
with just conceptions of duty and perfect self-control, 
can never lead the other and the family to that unity 
which gives security and happiness. Upon the sands 
of this belief stand the crumbling castles of ruined 


206 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


families. My father, you have warned me; and 
Judge Heron, you have directed me aright.” 

The muffled tinkle of sleigh-bells coming towards 
her through the storm, drew her attention from the 
train of thought that had nearly directed her mind to 
a final decision, and as the fur-covered sleigh stopped 
before the door, she saw Leslie Montford step from 
it, and after giving some directions to the driver, he 
rang the door-bell. He sent the maid to ask her if she 
would give a part of the afternoon to his society, and 
upon her assent being given, he came into the parlor. 

Since the morning on which they turned away 
from the greenhouse and went through the ashes 
and ruins of a burned city to a place of shelter and 
reunion of family, Montford had been conscious of a 
change in the thoughts and sentiments of Josephine 
towards him. He had supposed it to be occasioned 
by the troubles and anxieties which had come upon 
her, and that they had diverted her mind to their 
contemplation ; but as the time passed, the distance 
between them widened, and what he now felt in her 
company was restraint and doubt. 

He had noticed that her conversation tended 
towards what he thought to be criticisms upon his 
acts and opinions, and especially so, regarding the 
subject of social enjoyments and the use of wine in 
connection with them. He had always treated the 
subject with slight consideration and with something 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


207 


of annoyance that he should be made the object of 
its application, and he could not seriously consider 
his own mild indulgences to be the occasion of the 
estrangement; so he had gone over the usual list of 
probable causes for a reason, from the timidity of a 
woman to her fickleness, and found no conclusion. 
He had spent the previous evening in her company, 
and upon after-reflections, was so forcibly impressed 
with a danger to their relations that he resolved upon 
an immediate and pointed enquiry. 

Along with his doubts and perplexities had come 
the conviction, or rather belief, that he was the in- 
jured one, who was being deprived of the trust and 
confidence of his future wife; and he also entertained 
the idea that has been so common among men, but 
which is being gradually dispelled, that whatever 
caused the trouble, his was the right to decide upon 
the remedy and its application. 

Josephine was surprised that she should be put 
upon the defensive at the first stage of the conversa- 
tion, for, after being seated, he said to her : 

“Josephine, there has been a change in your man- 
ner towards me, a withdrawing, instead of a closer 
bond of companionship, as I had hoped. I have 
examined my acts, my speech and my social qualities, 
and have thought of the love and consideration that 
I have shown for you ; and I cannot see where I 
have in anywise failed in my duty to you, or in the 


208 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


requirements of a woman’s love. I cannot feel that 
I have received in the full measure that I have given. 
And I do feel that you have been ungenerous in 
granting much that a lover asks for. I wish to clear 
our relations of doubt and constraint ; and I feel that 
upon you falls the duty of bringing the peace and 
happiness of the first weeks of our engagement. I 
ask you to confide in me the obstacles that may 
obstruct you in the fulfilment of that duty, to the end 
that I may be of assistance in their removal. Jose- 
phine, I love you, and would give all my strength to 
your aid. Do you love me as this, Josephine ? ” 

“Raise yourself above it;” and Judge Heron’s 
injunction stilled the impulse that stirred within as 
she looked upon the pleasing face and manly form 
before her. For, had she not felt his kiss upon her 
lips, and his arm around her, as he drew her to him 
when the words that made her his came from her 
tongue ? 

“ Leslie, there are no obstacles in my way upon 
the path of duty. No strength can aid me to give 
the measure of your love. I have contemplated the 
duties that I owe to you and to those who might 
walk through life with us ; and those you owe to me 
and them. I believe that I comprehend them all. 
I have examined, not my acts and speech, or social 
qualities, but myself and you, the higher properties 
of our character and thought, to know if there is that 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


209 


within us, established and secure, which will bring 
us happiness and unity of life and purpose. My 
search is ended. You are not what I had thought. 
I am dismayed and would turn back.” 

“Would this be justice to me, Josephine? Did 
you not tell me that you loved me ? Can love do so 
great a wrong ? I cannot give you up. What have 
I done?” 

What is love? Judge Heron’s definition swept 
through her mind, and Montford’s impulsive ques- 
tions showed her its truth. As she never before had 
seen, she now saw the material reaching for its grati- 
fication and striking down in its eagerness all the 
barriers raised by thought for the protection of the 
soul. An argument with this were fruitless, and she 
said to him : 

“ I can only answer your last question, and make 
its application to our relations in life. You have 
used that which your own judgment condemns, and 
you have not the excuse that you are ignorant of its 
effects. You have allowed an indulgence for which 
all men who patronize make excuses and lower them- 
selves to the humiliation of apology. You have 
injured your mental and moral standing with your- 
self, and as you fail in your duties to yourself, so will 
you in your duties to others. You have taken that 
which never gave sustenance to a single elevating 
thought, no inspiration to an exalted purpose, and 


210 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


no aid to a higher and better life. You have turned 
from me and taken that to yourself which degrades 
your thoughts of me and all my sex ; puts us upon a 
level with the food you eat, and the wine you drink ; 
and shuts from your sight the beauties of our com- 
panionship. You have put that in your brain which 
helps to lower the intellectual average of mankind, 
and the world, as it advances in mental achievements, 
will look upon you as a hindrance and not a help. 
You have drilnk that of which you are ashamed and 
dare not tell the thought, the speech or action, in- 
spired by its influence; that which no one uses with 
a clear conviction of right, but which puts upon the . 
otherwise honorable tongue the excuses and evasions 
of falsehood.” 

“ Josephine, love is all-forgiving. If I refrain, can 
you not forget ? Our obligations bind us to each 
other and demand fulfilment.” 

“A fear of the future is an ever-present calamity. 
If he cannot remove this, he has already failed in his 
obligations to you.” Again Judge Heron’s words 
gave greater strength to her resolution. 

“ Mr. Montford, the coquetry of a woman is no 
more harmful than the dalliance of a man with wine. 
Her incontinence, no more degrading in its effects 
than his drunkenness. If I had taken the first step 
towards that degradation, would your love forgive 
me, or would your obligation hold you to its fulfil- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


211 


ment upon my promise to refrain from other steps 
downwards? You would tell me that my acts indi- 
cated tendencies ; that our future life together was an 
uncertainty. You would point me to the ruined 
homes about us, caused by woman’s instability ; to 
the blush of shame upon the husband’s face when the 
finger of society pointed to his wife ; with the justice 
of right, you would bid me go my way and leave your 
manhood uncontaminated. 

“With the same right of application I judge your 
tendencies. Your acts justify me. I feel the uncer- 
tainty of our future, over which clouds have already 
gathered. I point you to the ruined homes and 
lives about us, caused by the use of alcohol ; to the 
blush of shame upon the face of the wife when society 
points a finger at her husband and calls him a drunk- 
ard ; and, with the same justice of right, I ask you to 
go your way and leave my womanhood undefiled.” 

The driving snow that beat against the face of Les- 
lie Montford, as he went towards his home, was not 
as cold as the chill that came over his heart, when he 
thought of the noble girl whom he had lost. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


EAR the close 
of the Winter’s 
social season, a 
part of the in- 
telligence and 
culture of Chi- 
cago had re- 
ceived an invi- 
tation to attend 
an evening re- 
ception at the 
home of a 
noted family 
of wealth and 
education. Among the other guests who accepted 
came a debutante, eager in enquiry and frank in 
impulsive ideas ; her cousin of the second season, 
who was becoming wiser ; and their chaperon, who 
was a lady of tact and sense. Of this she gave 
evidence as she arranged herself and her charges in 
a comfortable position in the reception parlor near 
the easy chair in which Judge Heron, who was a 



THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


213 


relative of the family, had seated himself, and within 
easy conversational distance. 

They had arrived at an early hour that the debu- 
tante might observe all that could be seen or heard 
during the entire entertainment, and, as the chaperon 
was immediately involved in a discussion with the 
Judge, she employed her time in noting arrivals and 
making aside comments upon them to her cousin of 
the second season. F rom this to gossip was an easy 
grade. As they became absorbed in the luxury of 
personalities, their voices raised, and Judge Heron 
heard the debutante say : 

“She broke the engagement just for that? How 
idiotic! He is the great desirable of his circle.” 

Then the cousin said : 

“ Since entering society I have seen a great deal 
of that, and I cannot say that she is idiotic, or even 
foolish. Last summer, while we were at Geneva 
Lake, a party of young men from Chicago — we know 
some of them, too — ” here she inclined toward the 
debutante and spoke in undertones, and then re- 
sumed, u — came there for an outing and occupied a 
little cottage but a short distance from ours. They 
had wine and beer, and things of that sort came to 
them by express; and of all the foolish actions you 
ever heard of, day and night — why ! I would not 
marry one of them if he was worth a million.” Here 
she again inclined toward the debutante. “And I 


214 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


had always thought that he was so nice, but after I 
heard him sing that song — well, I avoid him now.” 

“ Nonsense!” said the debutante; “nice young 
men get wild sometimes, and what is the harm if 
they are correct after marriage ? ” 

“ Yes, my dear, if — ” said she of the second season. 
“ How are you to be informed of what they do after 
marriage ? They try the best they can to conceal 
their depravity from us before marriage ; afterwards, 
they have the help of loving wives who shield them 
and tell falsehoods for their sake. You need not 
make big eyes at me, my dear. I said falsehoods, 
and that is what it is. I have heard many things 
since I entered society. You know George?” An- 
other inclination toward the debutante, who eagerly 
bent her head to listen. “And the men who came 
home with him were obliged to help him to his 
room, and still, his wife told my mother, when she 
made a call the next day, that he was confined to his 
room with a severe cold. She is a good Christian 
woman, too.” 

“Well,” said the debutante, “ I do not believe 
that she knows how to manage a husband. I would 
make him love me so much that he could not possibly 
do such a thing.” 

The cousin of the second season laughed outright 
and heartily at this remark. The chaperon put a 
finger on her shoulder and said ; 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


215 


“ Do you forget ? ” 

Judge Heron came to her aid by saying: 

“The laugh is not untimely and savors more of 
thought than levity, which assures me that the young 
lady, in her social studies, has not forgotten to observe 
the indications that point directly to her future do- 
mestic status, and has a keen appreciation of the 
probabilities that a woman’s love can make but slight 
headway against the current of a man’s habits and 
tendencies ; and that as a man is before marriage so 
he will be after ; with a chance that upon the removal 
of the restraints which he places upon himself for the 
purpose of making a coveted alliance, he will intensify 
his persistence in following his inclination. 

“It also assures me — begging the pardon of the 
younger lady, who will have future occasion to modify 
her views, or even to discard them entirely and to 
adopt others — that the more thoughtful young ladies 
are coming to look upon the marriage relation as a 
condition of fact, rather than as a creation of romance ; 
and my young friend is justified in treating with levity 
any suggestion that she or her sisters can create a 
domestic paradise with any material which may be 
at hand.” 

The chaperon here asked the cousin of the second 
season of whom they had been speaking, and upon 
being told what inspired the conversation, she said 
to Judge Heron, “ It was a display of common sense 


21 G 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


that should be a beacon light for the guidance of all 
marriageable girls who are walking with uncertain 
steps towards the life from which there is no turning 
back, without disgrace and sorrow, and in which, if 
it be not one of happiness, there is no consolation 
but repentance. Examples of this repentance are 
altogether too common, even among the best of peo- 
ple, and it is fully time that young ladies should be 
making enquiries as to the causes which may seriously 
affect their future welfare.” 

Judge Heron said : 

“All young ladies, or I would speak more properly 
were I to say, all women, can have more control over 
the destinies of their own future and the acts of men 
in relation to them, than they have as yet exercised ; 
that is to say, if they act in unison. Let us see. If 
the same condemnation was meted out to the man 
for his misconduct, and in the same positive and inex- 
orable manner that it is to the woman, he would be 
held under the identical social and moral restraints 
which govern her. There is an unwritten but recog- 
nized law among honorable men, that one shall not 
associate with a woman who has dishonored her sex. If 
this law was applied by women with the same rigor of 
enforcement, and with like penalties, to the other sex, 
against the drink which tends to reduce manhood 
to like degradation, then would the man strive, as the 
woman now does, to present to society a clean record 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


217 


of action ; and it is within the power of women to 
make this application and enforce the penalties. 
Unyielding condemnation, which he metes out to 
her, would restrict his indulgence. Social ostracism, 
which he applies to her, would be a warning to aspir- 
ing youth that would not pass unheeded. Denial of 
companionship, which is another penalty inflicted by 
man upon the erring woman, could be placed upon 
him with all the potency of conversion. Refusal 
of marriage, which he applies with universal force 
against her, would hold him from evil during the age 
when habits are formed. This she can exercise 
when she will look upon the married life as a reality 
(begging your pardon, Madam, as you and I know 
it) and learns that mental approval is the only safe- 
guard to show her the paths of peace and happiness 
through that life ; that love is a material impulse that 
dwells with us all and tends to haste and indiscretion.” 

The hum of conversation about them was suddenly 
stilled as a couple came into the reception parlor who 
attracted more than usual attention, and to whom, 
after their courtesies to the entertainers, several guests 
pressed forwards and gave greeting. Among the 
others were the chaperon and Judge Heron. The 
cousin of the second season inclined towards the 
debutante and said, “They are Josephine Haldon and 
Doctor Horace Morton.” 


CHAPTER XV. 



ADED cove 
within the shore 
of Geneva 
Lake. A bright 
July afternoon. 
A soft breeze 
rippling the 
water and weav- 
ing its surface 
into glittering 
meshes. A lady 
reclining upon 
the sloping pebbles at the edge of the shade thrown 
by a group of willows, and near the tiny breakers that 
splashed close to her feet. A yacht that had sailed into 
the entrance of the cove and was rounding upon a 
return tack, its white sails waving lightly in the face 
of the gentle wind ; and as it swayed and settled upon 
its course, the melody of a boat-song came floating 
across the water from the gay party on board. The 
reclining lady took up the dying strains and sent them 
in silver tones among the deep shades behind her. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


219 


“A scene of beauty, and a song of enchantment.” 

The exclamation startled the lady, and as she hur- 
riedly arose and looked behind her she saw a gentle- 
man dressed in yachting costume, and standing upon 
the edge of the narrow beach at the end of a path 
leading into the grove ; then she looked along the 
shore of the cove and called anxiously : 

“ Norah ! Norah!” 

The gentleman hastened to quiet her apprehen- 
sions by saying, “ I ask your pardon, Miss, my words 
were involuntary, but had I seen your face I fear that 
I should have given them greater emphasis. It is a 
beautiful scene, and you gave the song a greater 
enchantment. I trust that you will forgive me.” 

“ This is so unexpected to me, and — and — you are 
a stranger to me, sir.*” 

“ I will rely somewhat upon the greater social free- 
dom allowed to watering places and seaside resorts, 
and presume upon your indulgence by introducing 
myself. My name is Montford. I reside in Chicago 
and am in business there.” 

“Is it somethin’ ye wanted wid me, Missus ? I was 
jist a little way in the woods beyant,” and Norah 
came briskly down the path from the grove. 

“Only to know where you was, Norah, and that 
you was not far away,” said the lady. 

“ It’s talkin’ wid mesilf I’ll be the rist av the day, 
I’m thinkin’,” and Norah looked over Montford’s 


220 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


yachting costume, from the blue hat ribbon to the 
flannel bells that covered his shoes. “ I’ll go back 
beyant.” 

“ My housekeeper, Mr. Montford,” said the lady, 



after Norah had gone away. “ She is somewhat 
familiar, having been with me so long.” 

“ I can infer, Miss, that Geneva is your home, and 
that all this beautiful scenery is a charm of your daily 
life.” 

“It is a daily charm, Mr. Montford, but my home 
is not here, except for the summer. I cannot feel that 
I have a home since my husband died.” 

“ Then you are a ; I ask your pardon, Madam. 

I was thoughtless.” 

o 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


221 


a Yes, Mr. Montford, a widow, as you were about 
to say, and I can add, a lonely one, as our life was 
all that lovers dream. His memory has kept with 
me during the two years since he — since he went 
away. My mother urged me to put it aside, and I came 
here where I can see pleasant sights and pleasant 
people. Even if I am acquainted with none of them, 
they direct my thoughts away from memories that 
some time during my life must be stilled, if not 
entirely lost.” 

The shade of sorrow drew Montford s sympathy, 
and her beauty intensified it. He thought : 

“ She is lonely ; an hour is little to me ;” and point- 
ing to a seat within the grove, proposed that they go 
to it and sit awhile. She gave her assent, and as 
they walked, she said : 

“ Among the many things of life, for which we 
should be grateful, is that time modifies all trouble, 
and the companionship of others tends to direct our 
thoughts to future pleasures.” 

As he talked with her, his words of sympathy soon 
changed to sentences of cheer and descriptions of 
pleasant scenes, and later, the echo of her silvery 
laughter filled the grove as he related to her the his- 
tory of ludicrous experiences. She had not spoken, 
except to give assent to his expressions, or make 
s ugg es ti° ns aiding his efforts to entertain her. 
An hour passed, and then another, and still he 


:22 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


remained with her in the glorious fascination that 
draws a man to an appreciative woman, who is inter- 
ested, beautiful, and a stranger. The sun went 
behind the distant forest, and he was aroused to the 
action of the forgotten world by the laughter of the 
yachting party, who had made a landing and came in 
a merry group through the grove on their way home. 
The lady noticed the deepening shade, and with 
marked anxiety arose, looked about the grove, and 
called to her maid, who did not respond, and then said 
to Montford : 

“ She must have thought you an acquaintance and 
gone home, supposing that I would not need her 
company longer.” 

“ I will gladly escort you home, Madam, if you will 
accept ; and do you know that we have conversed for 
hours, and that I do not as yet know your name ? 
How unthoughtful of me!” 

“ Of me, Mr. Montford. I should have informed 
you when you gave me yours, but I was somewhat 
disturbed by your unexpected presence. I am Mrs. 
Lavosse, and I must rely on the greater social free- 
dom of watering places to excuse me for allowing an 
acquaintance to continue that was begun in such an 
unconventional manner. My cottage is but a short 
walk distant. I must go now, as Norah will expect 
me with tea ready. Have you a cottage here ? Are 
you married, Mr. Montford?” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


223 


“ No, to both questions, Mrs. Lavosse, and I stop 
at the hotel.” 

She took his arm and they walked up the path 
towards her cottage in silence. To him, her ques- 
tions had brought the pang of loneliness. He saw 
in the far past the face of Josephine Haldon smiling 
as he told her the words of love. He saw her walk- 
ing by his side in purity of life and thought. He 
saw her honor as a rock, high above the storms of 
passion ; her character untouched by the breath of 
suspicion. He saw her go away from him never to 
return ; and who was this now by his side, beautiful 
in face and form, but the companion of a chance 
acquaintance that Josephine would have repelled 
with scorn and indignation, with flashing eyes, and 
scathing words? With great effort he found the 
words of courtesy and gentleness to rightly end his 
interview with Mrs. Lavosse, and as he bade her 
good night, at the porch of her cottage, she said : 

“ I have spent the most pleasant time of years 
with you to-day, and shall always welcome your 
company;” and with an enticing smile that touched 
his vanity, she added, “ You are the first to lead my 
thoughts from sorrow.” 

Whenever gloomy thoughts came to Montford’s 
mind and held him to the contemplation of his loss 
of Josephine, his impulse was to vigorous physical 
and mental enjoyments with his associates, not in a 


224 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


way that courts excesses in the use of wine or other 
liquors, but which indulges as a means of excitement 
and stimulation for the purpose of adding zest to 
pleasures, and, perhaps, bringing forgetfulness of 
everything not connected with the present and its 
surroundings ; and sometimes, when memory of past 
events came over the banquet table or into the social 
circle, he would add largely to the usual quantity of 
wine, and on some occasions had found himself 
noticeably under its intoxicating influence. His 
chance acquaintance with Mrs. Lavosse and his 
involuntary comparison of her probable character 
with that of Josephine, had brought upon him a 
sense of depression made more vivid by the reflection 
that she might have been his afternoon companion 
as an honored wife, instead of the one who had 
betrayed him into an acquaintance of a doubtful 
character by her beauty and charming song, and he 
eagerly sought an opportunity to cheer his drooping 
spirits. A bottle of wine for dinner and an accept- 
ance of a late champagne supper’ with intimate 
friends, which lasted well into the morning hours ; 
the effect of all this being a demand of the nerves 
for gratification during the next day. 

On the forenoon of the third day after his meeting 
with Mrs. Lavosse, he was walking about the boat 
landing and the surrounding groves in a more cheer- 
ful mood than usual, and as he came down upon the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


225 


beach he saw the housekeeper, Norah, sitting upon 
the sloping bank, and more with thought of diver- 
sion than information, asked if her mistress was 
about the groves. 

“ It’s not goin’ out av marnin’s, she is, Mr. Mont- 
ford, but a practicin’ on the pianna, an’ a singin’ 
songs, she is, an’ the way she’s learnin’ thim songs 
wud astonish ye ; an’ she’s playin’ one this marnin’ 
about me love a lovin’ me, an’ me a lovin’ me love, 
or some sich way, I dunno ; but it’s that pretty, I’d 
be a-wantin’ to kiss her, that I did, an’ she’s that 
sweet ” 

“You appear to regard her very highly,” said 
Montford. 

“ Regardin’ av her highly, is it, Mr. Montford ? 
I don’t know if it’s that ye call it, but if ye’d been 
wid her foor years, like mesilf, I’m thinkin’ ye’d call 
it somethin’ warmer thin that, an’ she’s had nobuddy 
but mesilf to love sence her husbin’ died, two years 
beyant, an’ she’s had no childer, an’ she’s that lovin’ — ” 

“ Perhaps she will marry again, and — ” 

“ Marry ag’in, is it?” interrupted Norah. “She’ll 
not marry widout love, an’ she’s not done wid her 
husbin’ yet — a-lovin’ av him, if he do be dead — an’ 
they’s lots av min come to console wid her, an’ they 
didn’t come but the wanst, ayther ; an’ they was nice 
min, too, some av thim rich, but she wouldn’t listen, 
an’ she told me — only yister avenin’ — that she’s niver 

15 


226 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


see but the one man ’cipt her husbin* that she felt a 
bit av love for, an’ she said she belayed that love 
kim a shinterin’ acrast the water, an’ all thim nice 
ways, suddint like, an’ a woman couldn’t help it if it 
tuk her aff on serryfin’s wings, an’ sich langwidge, 
an’ said that ye was that nice, an eddicated — Mr. 
Montford, it’s goin’ home I must be doin’ right aff. 
Me missus always told me when me tongue got a 
goin’ it run away wid me sinsibleness, an’ it’s right 
she was till I can’t dispute wid her. Good marnin’, 
Mr. Montford.” 

“Wait, Norah. You have told me so much that 
it will be just as well to tell me all.” 

“It’s not tellin’ ye anymore I’ll be, Mr. Montford, 
an’ I can’t tell if she meant ye when she was talkin’ 
about serryfins an’ things, but she was a talkin’ av 
the grove, an’ the yat, and the shinterin’ water, an’ 
yersilf, all mixed togither, an’ if I’d be tellin’ ye what 
she said, she’d sind me right aff home agin. She’s 
that particular. Good marnin’.” 

He tried to hold her in further conversation, but 
she ran up the path to the cottage of Mrs. Lavosse, 
and without looking behind her, entered it and closed 
the door. 

The Irish woman’s unwitting revelation of the 
sentiments of Mrs. Lavosse towards him, and the 
scrap of history indicating her long-continued loyalty 
to the only love of her life — constant until his appear- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


227 


ance — modified his previous estimation of her 
character, and held his own attractions to his 
contemplation in vivid contrast to the weaker powers 
of others, and brought to him the vanity of exclusive 
conquest. He regretted the acceptance of an invita- 
tion to become one of a yachting party upon the lake, 
as he was in a mood to continue his acquaintance 
with Mrs. Lavosse, and knew that she would be 
among the groves or about the shore during the later 
afternoon ; but as he could not recall it without indi- 
cating a cause to his associates, and thus betray to 
them the origin of its incitement, he thought of 
future opportunities and discarded the idea. He 
had already come to look upon his association with 
Mrs. Lavosse as an enticing secret. 

When a young man is flushed with the buoyancy 
of present or expected pleasure, he learns that wine, 
if he takes it, will raise that pleasure to the compass 
of an ecstasy ; and if he looks back upon the experi- 
ence, he remembers that discretion was weakened, if 
not entirely overcome. The restraining powers of 
the mind were enveloped and their action restricted ; 
an incipient insanity. So Montford, when upon his 
yachting trip during the afternoon, to the elation of 
a supposed conquest added the stimulation of wine, 
of which there was a plenty on board. 

When the yacht rounded into the cove for a return 
tack, as it had done upon the day when Mrs. Lavosse 


228 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


swelled the boat song, he saw her, as before, reclin- 
ing upon the pebble beach. He forgot the eyes of 
his intimates and stood upon the deck and swung 
his hat to attract her attention. She responded by 
a wave of her parasol, but arose, turned quickly and 
walked up the path to the grove. This movement 
was interpreted correctly by the party on board, as 
some who had leveled their glasses upon her failed 
to see her face, and as she immediately disappeared 
behind the trees, there was evidence that she re- 
garded his recognition as an indiscretion. During 
the remainder of the trip Montford withstood the 
discomfiture of questions and innuendoes, and upon 
landing went immediately to his hotel, fearing that 
he might, if strolling through the grove with his party, 
meet her and be compelled to a recognition, and per- 
haps an introduction to his friends. 

During the earlier evening hours he remained in 
his room, and, as the excitement of the wine, the 
pleasures of the day, and the incident in the cove 
wore away, gathered his reason to analyze the con- 
dition of mind and its tendencies brought about 
by his chance acquaintance. The character of his 
youthful associations and training was of such a 
nature that up to this time he had been held from 
adventures of even the mildest social danger, and as 
he put his clear thought upon the possible result of 
this one, he condemned the methods used by himself, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


229 


and allowed and condoned by her, to gain and culti- 
vate her acquaintance, and condemned its continu- 
ance. In spite of his effort to put her away from 
his thoughts, the pure acts and speech of Josephine 
Haldon came as a panorama before him and con- 
demned both himself and Mrs. Lavosse. After giv- 
ing the subject full consideration, and applying social 
reasons and moral precepts to his argument, he 
resolved to break the acquaintance and treat her as a 
stranger. 

He went below, and as he reached the office of 
the hotel he was met by three associates, who urged 
him to join them in a game of billiards. As the 
time was still early he gave assent. As the game 
progressed, a wager brought a bottle of champagne, 
and within a half-hour another, of which they all 
partook. Montford soon found his attention being 
called away from the requirements of the game to 
thoughts of Mrs. Lavosse and the exultation of 
being the only one who could change the impulses 
of her love to a living object. The game became 
spiritless to him, and he made excuses to retire, and 
walked out in the moonlight towards the lake. 

As he walked in the grove the scene upon the 
shore of the lake came before his mind ; the sheltered 
cove, the shining water, the swaying sails, the pebble 
beach, the swelling boat song flitting among the 
shades, and the romance of wine painted the vision 


230 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


of beauty around the enticing form and face of Mrs. 
Lavosse. When he came to an open space by the 
path leading to the cove, he was startled at seeing 
her reclined upon the grass with her head resting on 
the lap of the housekeeper, and to the romance of 
the cove was added the subtle charm of a moonlit 
picture of loveliness within a frame of sylvan shade. 

As she saw him, she arose with an exclamation of 
surprise. N orah ran among the trees to the path, and 
regardless of calls to return, kept on her way to the 
cottage. Mrs. Lavosse stood before him in evident 
confusion that the situation had been forced upon 
her, and as he looked upon the downcast eyes and 
disturbed face, all thoughts of her indiscretion in 
accepting his introduction without formalities, and of 
her possible disregard of social proprieties, and con- 
sequent undesirability as an acquaintance, left him, 
and he saw her as one who was pure and loving, but 
who had capitulated to his fascinations, and he be- 
lieved that none other could have made this impres- 
sion. He was conscious of an intellectual state 
entirely new to his experience, which, were his 
analysis made with a clear brain, he would decide 
to be an intermingling of pity and conceit, but as his 
perceptions were clouded by the one-fourth of two 
bottles of champagne, the uncertainty of romance 
impelled his action, and he said to her : 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


231 


“It seems fated that we should meet. Let us 
walk together.” 

He noticed the pleasure with which she accepted 
this invitation, and as her hand came within the 
proffered arm and drew it closely to her side, he 
imagined thrills of loving confidence in the pressure. 
As they walked, she interspersed the conversation 
with scraps of her past history, relating them with 
the ingenuousness of innocence revealing the inmost 
impulses of a loving heart, to which he responded in 
words of appreciation that carried with them tones 
of sympathy and trustfulness. To excuse her, as 
well as himself, for the social imprudence in which 
they had become involved, he dwelt upon the uni- 
versal liberty of action indulged by all people 
during their seasons of relaxation from business and 
society, and gave illustrations from his personal 
experience, of revelries in company with his inti- 
mates, the hilarious actions and speech of which 
were soon forgotten or condoned by the apology of 
recreation. To all this she gave encouragement, 
and to more fully reassure him of her acquiescence 
in his thought, said to him s 

“ I believe that every pleasure should be stimulated 
to an ecstasy. Sorrows become agonies of their own 
force, and why should we not use all means of enjoy- 
ment, especially here, where pleasure is the only 
reason for our presence ? ” 


232 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


He felt grateful that she sustained the views for 
which Josephine had discarded him, and when at a 
late hour he bade her good night at the door of her 
cottage, he assented to her invitation to call at any- 
time not interfering with his social duties to friends, 
and felt an exultation that one so beautiful and inno- 
cent had made him the object of her confidence. 
The memory that went with him into the night of 
sleep, was the moonlit smile of Mrs. Lavosse. 

Why, if the wine had not clouded his reason and 
degraded his impulses, should Montford have awak- 
ened in the morning and looked upon the moonlit 
smile as a cold enticement, his argument excusing 
his indiscretion as a fallacy, and her remark sustain- 
ing it as an open door to intrigue? Why should 
thoughts of Josephine, of her virtue and nobleness 
of character, her regard for social observances, her 
purity of speech and action, have come to him and 
kept with him through the morning hour, gone with 
him to the breakfast table, and have remained absent 
during the yachting trip and the moonlight walk ? 
Why had he looked upon a vision of lovely inno- 
cence leaning upon his arm, and upon himself as an 
irresistible attraction, and now think of himself and 
his acts with disgust, and of Mrs. Lavosse with dis- 
trust and suspicion ? Again he resolved to break 
the acquaintance and treat her as a stranger. 

He spent the forenoon quietly, and after lunch 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


233 


strolled to the railroad station to see which of his 
acquaintances might have come upon the train from 
Chicago. Among others who stepped to the plat- 
form, he saw Dr. Horace Morton. He had learned from 
the gossip of his associates that Josephine had ac- 
cepted Mortons addresses soon after his own dismis- 
sal, and his unexpected arrival disconcerted him. 
Although they had been acquainted from childhood, 
Montford’s salutation was almost ungracious. After- 
wards, he turned away to other friends, and among 
them were two companions of a former hunting 
excursion, who were business associates, and who, in 
their outings, were inclined to vigorous enjoyments. 
They had come to spend the Saturday afternoon and 
night, and were to return Sunday evening. 

They walked to the hotel in company, and when 
his friends were writing their names upon the regis- 
ter, Montford saw that of Dr. Morton, and that he 
had been assigned a room. His presence depressed 
him and brought thoughts of his own dismissal and 
discomfiture. With little hesitation or thought, he 
accepted the invitation of his business friends to 
become one of their party. Before dinner they met 
two others who joined forces with them, and together 
they planned a campaign of pleasure, to last until the 
Sunday evening train left for Chicago. This was, a 
sumptuous dinner, with wine ; attend the weekly hop 
at the hotel, wine occasionally ; a private supper 


234 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


afterwards, in a parlor suite — wine, cognac, brandy 
and black coffee ; a yachting party on the lake the 
next day — all men — luncheon, wine and several 
bottles of brandy. Nothing 1 vulgar indulged in by 
any one ; simply a stimulated intellectual hilarity ; 
and as the yacht came to the landing with little time 
for the business friends to reach the Chicago train, 
Montford bade them good-bye and turned to talk 
with Norah, who had been watching the boat and its 
party with great interest as it came in shore. 

“ It’s a fine sailer ye are, Mr. Montford,!’ she said; 
“a rale pritty one. I’m not a-blamin’ me missus.” 

“ Not blaming her for what, Norah?” 

“For walkin’ wid ye in the moonshine till twilve 
a-clock, sure. An’ she’s been that happy till I come 
from the cottage an hour gone and lift her a singin’ 
an’ playin’ on the pianna, an’ ye can flatter yersilf 
that she’d be avin a-lookin’ at ye, the way she’s acted 
to the min since her husbin’ died.” 

“ Tell me, Norah, has she no friends ? — no callers, 

I mean ? — no lovers ? ” 

“Frinds, is it, Mr. Montford? Iverybuddy is her 
frinds that knows av her. Callers, is it? Galoshis 
av thim ; lovyers they wanted to be, but she wouldn’t 
have anythin’ to say to thim, not one word, not wan 
av thim ; an’ she told me yisterday that ’twas the 
funniest thing she’d iver thought av, that — that — ” 

“ That what, Norah ? ” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


235 


“ It’s a goin’ straight, directly home, I am, Mr. 
Montford. It’s likin’ to talk wid ye meself I am, an’ 
I’ll be tellin’ av ye things that shud be kipt a saycrit. 
Ye needn’t stand in me way, ayther, ’cause I can run 
around ye through the trees. It’s not sayin’ anither 
word I’d be. I’m goin’.” 

“Norah, tell her that I will call at eight this 
evening.” 

“ It’s right glad she’ll be to see ye, Mr. Montford, 
an’ I’ll till her that, sure.” 

Montford went to his hotel, dressed in evening 
costume with unusual care, and then to dinner with 
two companions of the day and previous evening. 
As a natural sequence to the indulgence already 
allowed, the dinner included wine, and afterwards 
Montford felt the need of outdoor exercise, and that 
the evening breeze was grateful to his flushed and 
burning face. He strolled among the groves and 
about the shore, and as he passed by' the moonlit 
opening in the shade and went down upon the pebble 
beach of the cove, the spirit of romance again filled 
the air about him and made Geneva with its glitter- 
ing water and shaded shores the enchanted home of 
Mrs. Lavosse. 

As he went into her presence at the appointed 
time, he saw the fairy of the lake transformed to an 
enticing woman in charming drapery, with sparkling 
ornaments. As she arranged for his comfort he 


236 THE junior partners. 

noticed with pleasure her attention to all the smaller 
details of courtesy, and that she kept close by him 
until she completed them, then placed her own seat 
very near to his, with movements and expressions 
that indicated a delight to be within the circle of his 
personal magnetism. 

Here we pause. The conversation of a beautiful 
and designing woman, and that of one whom she 
knows to be entranced by her personalities, his rea- 
son obscured and his impulses debased by stimulants, 
as she leads him along to folly in the name of love, 
is not of a character that would be grateful to purity 
or give strength to virtue. At the end of the long 
conversation, which she had deftly conducted to an 
impulsive conclusion, she said: 

“Mr. Montford, you have compelled me to love 
you.” 

He rested his arm upon the back of her chair and 
touched the? fine brown hair that splashed about her 
ears and over the laces around her neck. She leane'd 
towards him, and the lips that had felt the pressure 
of purity tasted the kiss of sin. The slender golden 
lizards with garnet eyes mot in company upon the 
arms around his neck. Her dress was the color of 
Australian gold, and it revealed the perfect form of 
Celestine Lavosse. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


I heard an orator say : “Insanity is a living death . ” 


JUDGE HERON’S NARRATIVE. 



GAIN the early frosts had 
tinted the groves 
about the Asylum, 
and again I walked 
by the long row of 
elms and under the 
statue of Mercy ; 
this time to go with 
Haldon to his home. 
Hope, the' only joy 
that dwells ’ behind 
the grated windows, 
had brought to him 


Thirty two years!.... 


its treasures. Soon after my Christmas visit his 
recovery began. His delusions lost their force and 
fell to the flashings of a dream, and in the early 
Autumn the weapon and the fiend were memories. 
Long nights of sleep and days of quiet rest, in which 
the bustle of the world was forgotten, had brought to 
him the healthy brain of manhood. The doors of 


238 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


the Asylum were closed against the poison which 
brought him there, and the protecting arms of the 
only place in our land where a man is safe from its 
temptations had held him away from his desires, and 
they had ceased their importunities. Doctor Peters 
had advised his stay beyond the time of his mental 
recovery, that he might strengthen his moral forces 
against the attacks of enemies who would meet him 
upon his return to the city. 

‘‘These enemies,” the Doctor said, “are numer- 
ous and vigilant. Some wear the guise of friend- 
ship, and one is open in its declarations ; but all are 
dangerous, and it almost needs the care of angels to 
keep him from their power.” 

“The open enemy,” the Doctor said, “is the com- 
munity in which he lives. It is without conscience, and 
violent. It murders men and robs their wives and 
children for the sake of revenue. For coin in hand 
it gives a privilege to ravish purse and intellect. It 
builds saloons on every thoroughfare and tells the 
man that they ape respectable and innocent of harm ; 
then grins, and points a finger at him because he 
entered and was robbed. If he steals for bread or 
turns upon it for vengeance, it sends him to the prison 
or to the Asylum. It will ask the pardoned criminal 
or the recovered maniac to drink, that he might help 
to pay its taxes. 

“ One friendly enemy is his neighbor who does not 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS, 


239 


think, but would impulsively ask him to come and 
drink with him and enjoy a moment’s sociability ; 
who then, if he refused, would look sorrowful as a 
mistreated friend, and grieve that his generosity was 
not appreciated, and urge upon him a reconsideration 
of his decision. 

“ Another is his business friend, who never makes 
a trade unless the contract seal is stamped with a bot- 
tle of champagne. Another, his social friend, who 
still maintains that pleasure comes in greater volume 
as the wine sparkles and exhilarates, but who knows 
nothing of the sorrows that follow the indulgence of 
an hereditary desire, but who is preparing his posterity 
for that woeful knowledge while he is hilarious. 

“ And deadly enemies are some physicians whom he 
trusts in sickness. When he needs rest and freedom 
from excitement they will prescribe him stimulants, 
which seem to strengthen, but their effect is only a 
concentration of his body’s forces to expel them, 
which makes him weaker, and if he survives by reason 
of his strength of will or superior constitution, the 
taste of alcohol has become familiar and grateful, and 
he continues to take the medicine that is compounded 
from the formula of death, upon the authority of 
those whose mission it is to save and perpetuate his 
life. 

“And still another enemy is the woman who sets 
the wine before him upon her own table. Of all the 


240 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


enemies who should be his friends, she is the most 
thoughtless and the most to be pitied. In every 
glass she pours she puts the degradation of her sex ; 
the thing that takes from him the memory of her 
purity and lowers her to the level of his basest 
thoughts — she and her sister women. 

“And then the saloon, that through its open doors 
exhales the incense of his desires, which fills the air 
around it as a perfume from an enchanted garden. 

“After the others have injured him, it offers the 
friendly enjoyment of its comforts, then stupefies its 
guest and takes from him his purse and brain, and has 
no further use for him. This, and the community in 
which he lives, despoil him with deliberate intention. 
The others are only thoughtless, but all are danger- 
ous to him as the companionship of vice to virtue. 

^ “Were some State or portion of our country set 
aside for the uses of sobriety, within whose borders 
no alcohol could ever come, to which he and his 
afflicted brothers might remove themselves, their 
families and their possessions, it would be a haven of 
security from the social and mental dangers that now 
surround them on every side. To their strengthen- 
ing brains would come a cleaner train of thought, 
and, as a sequence, moral and mental degradation 
would seldom come to the inhabitants. 

“ In that State the prison locks would soon become 
rusted from disuse, and the whispering wind would 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


241 


be the only sound that swept along the corridors and 
among the lattices of its asylums. Its 1 Hospital for 
Mental Diseases’ would be a cottage at its county 
capitals.” 

An attendant came into the office and said that he 
was ready to go with me to Haldon, who, after the 
greetings of friendship, proposed that we should go 
into the groves and stay awhile there, as he did not 
wish to go immediately away. He said, “It seems 
so much like leaving home.” 

We sat upon a bench that encircled a long table 
placed within the enclosure of a group of low pines,, 
while all around, and overhanging them, stood tower- 
ing maples, with leaves tinted with red and yellow, 
intermixed with lines of green, the charming fancy 
of the morning frosts. Between the pines and 
maples came a view of all the Asylum buildings and 
the proves and lawns about them. Within these 

o 

groves were those patients who were granted their 
privileges ; some nearly restored to their mental 
estates ; some quiet but in the gloom of Melancholia, 
others in the fluent and boastful delusions of harm- 
less Monomania. Here and there an epileptic, with 
brain stunned by the blows of an unknown and mys- 
terious demon. He falls as the one whose heart is 
pierced, and rises with the unfinished sentence upon 
his tongue, and knowing not that he has been among 


16 


242 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


the byways of the dead, he tells no story of his wan- 
derings. 

By far the most were they, of whom the visitor 
says : “ They are not insane. What foul oppression 
holds them here? Go bring the Judge and gather 
here his jury.” But when he asks the man to tell 
him of his wrongs, he answers, that something climbs 
upon the walls at night, steals along the corridor and 
creeps through the lattices into his room ; while he 
sleeps it robs him of his reason and fills its place with 
fancies ; then comes again another night and restores 
to him all that it had taken, and adds despair; that 
weeks or months will pass, and just as hope gives 
cheer it comes again, over the walls, along the cor- 
ridors, and through the lattices to his bedside. 

These are in the groves during the seasons of 
their responsibility, and at other times are kept within 
the buildings ; and here, beneath the maples and the 
evergreens, walk the men to whom eternal misery has 
come before the body’s death. Haldon said to me 
that their histories were entertaining and instructive, 
and as he had associated with them and had their 
confidence, they freely expressed to him their inmost 
thoughts. 

He called to one who was passing by and intro- 
duced me. * After the usual civilities, he took a seat 
opposite us and looked at me across the table as if 
to enquire if I was a new companion in their house- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


243 


hold. Haldon easily led him to a conversation re- 
garding himself, and as he talked, our expressions of 
sympathy encouraged him to speak without reserve. 

I will give his story as a whole, precisely as he 
told it. 

“ Boston is my birthplace, and I will be forty-two 
years of age next month. Mine was a family of 
moderate means, and I was sent to college, but social 
inclinations stood in the way of my advancement and 
I graduated without great honor. Of this I was 
ashamed and resolved to reach a place of distinction. 

I studied law, then went to , Illinois, and 

began my practice. I was successful and had filled 
one honorable place in the State government, when 
I suddenly became aware that I was being followed 
by an enemy who, if opportunity offered, would take 
my life. I armed myself, and one evening I met 
him in the rotunda of the hotel at which I boarded, 
and before he could draw his knife to cut me, I shot 
him. I was arrested, and they did not even give me 
a trial for an attempt to kill, but sent me here. I 
afterwards learned that I did not kill him, but that 
he recovered. He is intent upon revenge, and often 
comes here and awaits a chance to find me alone and 
to cut me to pieces with his knife. I avoid him and 
soon he goes away. I can see him looking about 
the buildings and among the trees. I have seen him 


244 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


hiding under this table where we sit, but I ran to the 
building and he dared not follow. 

“ Now, I know that all this is a hallucination and 
that no man ever comes here to harm me, and that 
the one I shot knows that I was insane, and that he 
has no spite against me ; still, when he comes, he is 
real. I can see him, hear him walk, and see the 
knife that he carries with him. The Doctor says 
that he has hope that this mania will pass away, and 
then I can go to the world again. I hope with him 
and try to throw it off, and think of what I can 
achieve when I again go to my profession, and of all 
the positions that are open to my exertions. Seven 
years ! and I was to have been married in a few 
days, when it happened. I get her letters now. 
She sends me cheer and hope, but I can read a 
sorrow between the lines. When I am well I shall 
go to her and this will bring her joy, and happiness 
to both, and she will aid me to take up my life again 
and carry it grandly to the aspirations of my early 
manhood.” 

His eyes shone with a steady radiance. Hope 
and confidence filled the smile that covered his face. 
An autumn breeze came sweeping across the lawns, 
plunged through the pines around us, and took with 
it a sigh that breathed the longings of an eternity. 
Seven years ! 

Insanity is a living disappointment. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


245 


Haldon beckoned to another, who came and sat 
among us, and he said : 

“ I was with Sherman through the great Rebellion. 
I kissed the girl who was to have been my bride 
within a month, and took my commission as a cap- 
tain and went with my regiment to the front. I was 
in every battle to the burning of Atlanta, and never 
was touched by ball or bayonet. My thoughts of 
Mary, and her prayers, kept me safe.” 

His voice trembled and the hand that lay upon the 
table clenched to whiteness. He looked up through 
the pines ; among the branches of maples, then over 
the lawns, and almost forced the words he uttered, “ I 
came to her and we were married.” He put his head 
upon the arm that rested before him, and all was silent 
but the low whispering of the pines. A maple leaf 
flashed its tints through the sunlight ; swayed and 
circled on its downward way, and dropped upon the 
table within the bended arm, and close to his face. 
When he raised again to speak his cheeks were wet, 
and the wind rocked the frosted leaf as it floated 
across a pool of tears. 

Again he clenched his hand and forced the words, 
“We were happy. I went into business and we 
prospered. We built a home and furnished it with 
everything that is comfortable and pleasing, and then 
our baby came — our boy.” The clenched hand whit- 
ened and his voice grew husky, but he rallied and 


216 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


continued, “The day he was baptised — I never shall 
forget it. H is name is Alfred. 1 1 was a sunny Sunday 
morning in June. I carried him in my arms to the 
church, and Mary walked by my side. He looked 
up at me and laughed and tried to reach his hands to 
put them on my face, then he would turn and look at 
his mother, and talk to her in baby language.” 

He arose and went out from under the pines to a 
rose-bush that grew upon the edge of the lawn, and 
picked a flower, pulled its petals from the stem and 
scattered them around ; then brushed his hand across 
his face and came back. 

“And two years after came a baby girl. We 
named her Marion. As near her mother’s as it could 
be, and not the same. When she was three years old 
my sickness came. I cannot tell you what it was, or 
what should cause it, but all at once I felt a demon 
in my heart. I struck my boy, and cursed my wife — 
my Mary whom I love. Then the neighbors came 
and held me and brought a doctor, who said I had a 
sickness of the mind and must be sent away for treat- 
ment. In a month or two, he said, I would be well 
again. I could not leave my home, and struggled and 
resisted when a stranger came to bring me here, but 
he tied my hands and feet and they carried me to the 
train and to the carriage. 

“ The month had passed, and then the two. My 
wife and babies wanted me, but the people here would 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


247 


not let me go. One night I watched and waited until 
the watchman passed my room, then raised the win- 
dow and pulled upon the iron grate and broke it. I 
crawled through, dropped to the ground and ran with 
all my speed towards my home. I could hear Mary 
and the children calling to me ; their voices urging 
me to fly, for men were after me. I have never 
heard their voices since. They caught me and 
wrapped a blanket around me, for I had forgotten to 
dress myself before I went away. They watched me 
and a year passed by ; then another ; this is the 
third, and still they tell me that I cannot go ; but 
when I talk to them of my family, how they love me, 
and how much they need my care, 1 cannot keep the 
tears from coming, and then they say, i Emotion indi- 
cates insanity, and you must stay until you conquer 
that.’ My wife 1 my children! this can never be as 
long as thought can go to you, and here I will stay 
forever. Would I were insane, with the insanity that 
never thinks ! But I can write to them, and they to 
me. See ! I carry their letters with me always.” 

He took three bundles of letters from the pockets 
of his coat and put them upon the table before him. 
Smiles came upon his face, his eyes lighted with 
pleasure, and he said : 

“ The largest is from Mary — every letter that she 
has written — and I have answered every one ; and 
this from Alfred, and the little one from Marion. She 


248 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


has just began to write to me. Hear what she says : 

“ ‘ My own Dear Father: Mother helps me to write, 
but I know what to say to you. I love you and 
want you with us. It seems so long before you come. 
I think it will be next week when my father will be 
here ; and then the next, and the next, and you do 
not come. It has been so long I can hardly think of 
it. I have almost forgot your voice. You must 
come or I shall forget your face ’ ” 

The rest we never heard. The open letter fell 
from his trembling hand upon the autumn leaves that 
strewed the ground ; the wind closed its folds, and 
hid the loving words from our sight. He bent over 
the table and with his face in his open hands he 
sobbed as a despairing child would by the side of its 
mothers coffin, and Jiis form shook with the agony 
that no loving letters can relieve. Tears fall in the 
Asylum as in the home. 

Insanity is a living sorrow. 

Two attendants came from the western building 
carrying an old man upon a chair. They brought 
him to the grove and placed him near us, under the 
shade of the pines. He gave them gentle thanks as 
they arranged and adjusted his clothing for his com- 
fort. His voice shivered, and memory brought to me 
the tones and the agonizing scream of the lady at the 
dance. The light wind played with the white hair 
that fell about his neck and threw its shining threads 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


249 


over his face, and his eyes had the seeming of out- 
stretched arms pleading for help. He needed no 
encouragement to talk, for the story of his sorrow 
had become the thought of his daily life. He knew 
that I was a stranger there, and that I came from the 



TEARS FALL IN THE ASYLUM AS IN THE HOME. 


outside world, which he had not seen in thirty-two 
years, and his appeals were made to me. 

“Thirty-two years, to-day, they have kept me 
here. There is a little of life left for me, and I must 
see the beautiful world before I die. Won’t .you 
take me with you when you go? Don’t tell me no ! 
I’ll be no trouble to you. I’ll only lean upon your 


250 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


arm and look around me, and look and never tire of 
seeing all that I once enjoyed ; the woods, the mea- 
dows, the lakes, the people. I remember them all. 
Thirty-two years! O, God! They are there yet, 
are they not? Don’t tell me they are gone. My 
wife and children ! I must find them. You will 
help me, won’t you ? My home ! is it there yet ? 
Have you seen them ? Did they send you here to 
take me to them ? Speak to*me ! What makes you 
silent? My wife? Is she old like me and I not 
there to love and comfort her? She is not dead? 
No, no! it breaks my heart to think of that. Why 
don’t she come to me ? Thirty-two years ! and I 
have never seen her. I pray to God, but she never 
comes. There is the Asylum hearse! A wounded 
soul gone to be healed. Take me to her before it 
comes to me ! Will you let me die without her?” 

His voice had swelled as he talked, from the low 
shivering tones to entreating shrieks. He held his 
hands towards me, and amid the sorrow that covered 
his face the pleading eyes stared with a tearless 
agony. I arose and drew away from him. He 
dropped his hands upon his knees, turned his face 
towards the winding driveway, and watched the 
Asylum hearse slowly pass out at the gate and go 
among the cypresses, lonely, unattended, and friend- 
less. 

Insanity is a living agony. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


251 


We went away from them to an arbor within the 
lawn, and as we sat together, John Haldon gave me 
the thoughts of one to whom insanity had granted 
mercy. He said : 

“ My friend, you have only seen a phosphorescent 
wave roll in from an ocean of sorrow and break upon 
the darkness of its shores. The storms are hid from 
all but those who cross its bosom. A single rock, a 
single wave, is shown to you by the dim light of the 
disturbed waters, and the fragments about you are 
the wrecks of but a single reef. All around the 
endless shores are other reefs and other rocks, and 
over the gloomy surface roll other waves bearing 
despair. 

“And have you thought, as you walked about 
seeking knowledge, that you have seen nothing that 
is new to you ; have found no action or emotion that 
is not about you in the city ; and that you could fill 
these yards and groves from its inhabitants, and 
to-morrows visitor be entertained precisely as you 
have been, and nothing would be missed from its 
usual character ? 

“ The sorrows and the tears, the fears and the 
delusions, the curses and the cries for vengeance, 
would all be here. The hysteric, the melancholy, 
the monomaniac, the lunatic, and the madman, would 
come with you from homes and schools, from offices 
and shops, from counting-houses and chambers of 


252 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


commerce, from saloons and beer halls. The gentle 
would come, with mingled tears and smiles, gazing 
in rapture upon their castles in the heavens. The 
deluded would come, with the story of folly upon 
their tongues. The violent would come, with the 
smoking pistol and the knife dripping with blood. 

‘‘This is but a mirror of the social world, that 
shows to the observer a reflection of its daily action. 
Here is mania. There it is among your people in 
all its forms. 

“And have you thought, as you walked among the 
people of the Asylum, noting their delusions and dem- 
onstrations, that they are men and women with souls 
attuned to the harmony of emotions, and that they feel 
and suffer as the ones to whom delusions never come? 

“ These delusions are as a moment’s happiness 
within a day of sorrow ; or as a flashing dream of 
peace amid a night of torment ; and when they 
depart the mind comes back again to the contem- 
plation of its troubles and its sorrows with a concep- 
tion made more vivid by a knowledge of its helpless- 
ness. They see the world as we see it, and know 
its comforts and its pleasures, and know that they 
are held away from it, perhaps forever — prisoners 
without a crime. They know the happiness of 
friendship and the joy of family, but they dwell 
within an enclosure and sit among a multitude, 
alone. They know that thoughts of harm are never 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


253 


theirs ; but they see their families flee from them, 
when their only thought is love ; desert, and then 
forget them, while they would walk the earth to 
find a loving face, and give the day and the stillness 
of the night to memories of home. 

1 ‘They know that their trouble is but a sickness, 
and they see their fellow-man add to the wrongs that 
he has already done them. They hear the stories 
that he repeats about them, culled from the parch- 
ments of superstitious ages ; that they have evil 
spirits in them, and uncanny witches dancing around 
them with unseen antics and unheard curses; that 
God has forgotten them or frowns when he hears 
their prayers. They hear the names of derision and 
degradation that he shouts to them — fit appellations 
for a barbarian’s derisive harangue to his enemy. 
They know that he comes to their hospital as to a 
place of curious exhibition. 

“ Of all the humiliations that he puts upon them, 
this is the worst and the most unnecessary. As well 
might strangers walk into his bedchamber and watch 
him as he struggled with the pains of fever, and 
comment on his agonies and point each other to his 
writhings. The curious visitor is an insult to man- 
hood and womanhood. To him it brings no good or 
knowledge. He goes away as ignorant as when he 
came, and carries only the fancied comprehension of 
an unthoughtful mind; while they who need serenity 


254 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


of mind to make them well are disturbed by angry 
thoughts. This is the home of a dreadful sickness 
and should be made sacred from intrusion. 

u Those who care for them and comprehend their 
sorrows, pity and respect and give their sympathy, 
and would close the doors against the man who 
comes with gaping mouth and foolish questions to 
gaze upon those whose delusions are equal in truth 
to the conclusions of his thoughtless curiosity ; but 
he holds them open and the wrong continues. 

And he who recovers from the insanity of alco- 
hol : what have you learned from him ? He, whose 
memory can go back over the delusion of the Asy- 
lum and trace their wanderings ; can mingle with the 
deliriums of alcohol and see their frightful imagery ; 
and can dwell with his desires and know their tainted 
impulses. Amid the quiet of the Asylum he has 
found the truth and comprehends it. 

“He has learned that the mind can be corrupted 
by the chemical action of a material substance, and 
memory stands beside him and sees the gradual 
decay. The same poisoned blood in which the heart 
sends disease to the vitals, goes to the chambers of 
the mind bearing disaster. 

“Few are the words required to tell the causes, 
but the sorrows strewn along the path of effects 
would fill the libraries of the world with sombre 
volumes. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


255 


“To him, the Asylum has no terrors. He will tell 
you that others may look upon the towering walls and 
grated windows with awe and fear, but he will see a 
sanctuary. As he walked along its corridors, and in 
its groves, the burden of his shame unrolled and fell 
away from him. Others may see the gloom of dark- 
ness around its portals, but he has found the light of 
reason shining within. 

“ Others may think of madmen, prisoned in cells, 
filled with curses, but he thinks of an afflicted brother 
struggling with the fever of delusion, and looks upon 
the room with the latticed door as a holy place. Upon 
its iron bedstead the sweet sleep of health and peace 
has come back to him again, and when a maniac’s 
curse rings out upon the still night air, he hears the 
echo in the grove transform profanity, and waft it to 
the heavens in words of prayer ; that the Angel writes 
within his book : ‘ God, help me : Christ, remember 
me: Jesus, protect me.’” 

We went by the long row of elms, passed out at 
the gate, and turned our faces towards the city. By 
my side there walked a man with intellect restored ; 
an intellect, bound to the chariot of Bacchus twenty 
years. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


N Superior Court, 
Case No. 10,001 
— suppressed. 

Thus said a 
daily court journal 
published in the 
city of Chicago 
during the sum- 
merfollowing Hal- 
don’s d i scharge 
from the Asylum. 

A very old gen- 
tlemen of heavy 
form, abrupt in speech and with a tendency to asth- 
matic struggles, was seated in the easy chair with 
cushioned arms, his feet on the low footstool of 
the three, in the parlor of Celestine Lavosse. 
This lady sat before him in the armless bamboo 
chair, and selected letters, memorandums, and scraps 
of verse, from a bundle upon her lap, and placed 
them on the arm of the easy chair, from which he 
took them, one by one, read them carefully and gave 



THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


257 


them back to her, saying, “ This is not sufficient 
proof.” 

Celestine leaned against her chair and gently 
rocked as she looked the papers over in the order 
which they had been given to her. Her dress was of 
white illusion, creamy in its tints, covering an em- 
broidered skirt which clung with noiseless motions 
as she rocked. A heavy kerchief of costly lace, 
yellow with age, was caught about her neck by a dia- 
mond double-heart, which sent its sparkling answers 
to the heavy solitaire upon her finger flashing its chal- 
lenges from the gas lights above the easy chair. The 
light evening breeze came through the open window 
of the sleeping room, pushed away the curtains before 
the arch and moved the light illusion of her dress in 
gentle ripples, and threw the splashes of fine brown 
hair across her cheek as she bent her head over the 
papers and searched intently as for a sentence lost. 

The old gentleman put aside his glasses, bent 
forward in his chair and gazed at her as if to make a 
perfect picture for the use of memory. His eyes 
wandered among the folds of her clinging skirt, over 
her shapely hands and arms, dwelt upon the outlines 
of her waist, then upon her face and among the 
ripples of her hair. If she was conscious of his scru- 
tiny she betrayed no sign, but still searched among 
the papers for words which were not there. He 
carefully adjusted his glasses to his eyes, bent 


soon 


258 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


further forward and again studied her face intently 
as one entranced or fascinated. Suddenly a sharp 
sound broke upon the stillness of the room. A key 
in the piano had yielded to the tension of its string 
and a minor note of the seventh octave escaped from 
its prison behind the sounding board. He sank back 
in his chair and uttered an exclamation that struck 
the chord upon the second octave below. The lib- 
erated note had set the pitch for the cadences of age. 
He turned his face towards the piano as if expecting 
other chords, and seemed with open mouth to wait 
his cue for lower cadences. 

Celestine looked in his face as if to read his 
thoughts, and saw the blood flush red upon his neck 
and cheeks. When he turned to speak his eyes met 
hers and fell before their glance. Whatever be his 
thoughts, she knew that hers could be the victory. 
She pointed to the glittering ring upon her finger 
and said, “Is this no proof?” then to the jeweled 
hearts, “ Nor this ? ” 

“ Not conclusive. They might be gifts that ” 

“ Judge Worthington, you have known me since 
my childhood. I have always respected you — almost 
loved you. I asked you to come to me because you 
were my father’s friend — my friend. In the little 
city where we lived, each knew all the others. Was 
not my reputation stainless ? I became dependent 
upon my own exertions and came here to perfect 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


259 


myself in music, that I might teach and honorably 
live. I wanted a home. I promised myself to him 
to gain it. He has trifled with me — would lead me 
astray, but my early teachings at home and at school 
have held me away from wrong. He has forsaken 
me. Am I to suffer without recompense ? ” 

Celestine went to the crimson lounge and threw 
herself upon it, covering her face with her hands. 
Judge Worthington hastened to her side, placed his 
hand upon her shoulder, and said : 

“ I will aid you ; but the proofs, Celestine ! the 
proofs ! These are insufficient. A positive proof of 
your engagement I must have. The letters are but 
love effusions that might precede a troth; the orna- 
ments a bauble present from a rich man.” 

Celestine sprang from the lounge as if impelled by 
a sudden thought, exclaiming : 

“ I have this proof. I will send her here that you 
may talk with her.” 

She hurriedly went to the dressing room to pre- 
pare for the street, and as she came out said to 
Judge Worthington : 

“ I knew that you used wine at home, but did not 
know the kind, so I prepared for your visit by getting 
several varieties. Here it is in the dressing room. 
I would drink with you, but I dislike the taste. I 
will not return until after your interview with the 


2G0 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


woman in whose house I was living at the time of 
my engagement. Her name is Mrs. Sharkey.” 

Celestine went to the first floor room back in Mrs. 
Sharkey’s house, and hurriedly explained to that 
woman what was expected of her in relation to 
“Case Number 10,001.” This explanation was 
received by her in silence, and when Celestine con- 
cluded she said : 

" Mrs. Lavosse, I’m in awful bad luck — harrible. 
Iver sence the man up-stairs was choked till death 
not a bit av anythin’ is a-goin’ right. Me houses 
are half impty all av the time an’ me roomers are 
fightin’ wid me for chaper rint. It’s a lot av money 
yer goin’ to git. How much is a rale good witness 
worth, Mrs. Lavosse?” 

u I’ll do nicely by you, Mrs. Sharkey. Do, please, 
go. The Judge is waiting for you.” 

“Nicely, is it? How minny dollars does that 
mane, Mrs. Lavosse?” 

“ Oh, a hundred dollars.” 

“A hundred dollars, is it? It’s a lot av money 
yer goin’ to git. Give me the clushter ye have in yer 
pocket, an’ ye’s kin buy it back av me for foor hoon- 
dred.” 

“Goodness, Mrs. Sharkey! you are greedy.” 

“Grady, is it? What’s yoursilf, Mrs. Lavosse?” 

“ But I want the cluster to wear. I will give you 
four hundred dollars. Can’t you take my word ? ” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


261 


“Mrs. Lavosse, I’m in bad luck an’ I’ll be nadin’ 

sure money. Iver sence the man up stairs ” 

“ Here, here, Mrs. Sharkey, take it and go quick. 

The Judge is waiting for you. Tell him ” 

“ It’s not nadin’ any advice, I am. I’ll till him a 
story that’ll do ye good. All the women shud stand 
togither for wan anither.” 

“Do not forget to tell the Judge what I said about 
him, Mrs. Sharkey.” 

“ I’ll not, Mrs. Lavosse.” 

Mrs. Sharkey hurriedly put on her black silk and 
crossed the street to Celestine’s parlor, where she 
saluted the Judge with becoming deference. He 
answered by saying, “Mrs. Sharkey, I suppose?” 

“That’s me name, Judge, an’ what was it ye 
wantid wid me? If it’s anythin’ about a coort I 
don’t want to stay, sure. I’m afeard av thim. Me 
husbin’ — rest his sowl! — got in wid a coort wanst 


“You are in no danger, Mrs. Sharkey.” 

“An’ it was jist the death av him. He worrit an’ 
worrit till ” 

“ Mrs. Sharkey, be seated. What do you know 
of the marriage engagement of Mrs. Lavosse?” 

Judge, me room where I slipt was jist aff the par- 
lor, on the same side, like the pianna, there.” 

“Where and when was this, Mrs. Sharkey?” 

u Last summer, at Genavy Lake, sure.” 


262 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“ What was your mission there ? ” 

“ Mishin, is it ? That’s wan av thim words I cud 
niver talk wid.” 

“What were you there for ?” 

“ For a rist, sure. Me two houses ■” 

“Was Mrs. Lavosse with you?” 

“She was. She was that sorrerful and lonelysome 
that I told her if she didn’t be doin’ somethin’ she’d 
waste away, an’ I tuk her wid me for company, an’ 

she’s that sweet, an’ purty, an’ good, that ” 

“ What did you see or hear ? ” 

“About the ingagemint, is it, Judge ? ” 

“ About the engagement, certainly.” 

“He scart her, Judge, a-spakin’ till her whin she 
was layin’ down a-lukin’ at the yat, and thin he said 
he was sorry, an’ that he was a-livin’ in Chicago, an’ 
was doin’ a big business, an’ he talked till her that 
nice, she said she’d fergive him. I thought he was a 
gintleman, Judge — if I didn’t, he shouldn’t pome in 
me house — an’ thin he wantid to be wid her all av 
the time, in the moonshine, an’ ivery place, an’ he 
axed her to go wid him to the balls, and on the yat, 
but she wouldn’t go aff alone wid him anywhere, she’s 
that particular, but said he cud come till the cottage 
an’ talk wid her in the parlor, an’ me bidroom was 
jist aff here, like the pianna, there.” 

“Well, Mrs. Sharkey, proceed.” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


263 


t( That’s anither av thim words. She said ye was 
that eddicated, may be I cudn’t talk wid ye.” 

“ Go on, finish your story.” 

“An’ it was a little house, an’ a little parlor, an’ a 
little bidroom, an’ I cudn’t help the hearin’ av it.” 

“ At the first call, what transpired ? ” 

“ I belave I know what that manes. They didn’t 
nothin’, Judge. He jist talked wid her, an’ he talked 
that nice an’ eddicated, an’ I thought he niver wud 
git done wid it ; ’twas twilve a-clock, sure, whin he 
wint away, an’ he said to her, he said, < Mrs. La- 
vosse, yer that plisint ye’d make life short till a man.’ 
Thim’s the very words.” 

“ And the next visit ? ” 

“Jist like the first wan, an’ five or six av them. 
Thin after that, whin he’d be spakin’ wid her, he 
didn’t say ‘ Mrs. Lavosse,’ he said * Celestine.’ ” . 

“Well?” 

“Well, purty soon, wan night, about three wakes, 
it was, he said till her, wud she be his ? an’ she said 
till him, scart like, she didn’t know if she’d be lovin’ 
him that much, an’ thin he begun a-teasin’ av her, 
,an’ tellin’ av her about sich a nice home, an’ all av 
thim things ; she said she’d think av it, and tell him 
the nixt time he’d be a-comin’ ; an’ the next marnin’ 
she told me av it, and she says, * Mrs. Sharkey, shall 
I ?’ an’ I says, 1 He’s a rich man, and can take care 
av ye nice ; av coorse ye shall.’ Thin she said she 


264 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


didn’t care so much about riches, but she’d like a 
home ; an’ I says, * Have it that way, thin ; but 
take him.’ Wasn’t that sinsible, Judge?” 

“ Go on, Mrs. Sharkey.” 

“ Whin he come, the very next avenin’, and she 
told him yes, she wud, he called her lovely, an’ dar- 
lin’, an angils, and thim langwidges, an’ if anybuddy 
had been a-callin’ me thim names, I’d be flyin’ away, 
if he didn’t hold me ; but she didn’t say wan word, 
but jist cried, an’ he tuk her in his arms and called 
her thim lovin’ names, an’ wint to kissin’ av her in 
the face, an’ in the hair, an’ a-huggin av her, till me 
brith was all gone away wid lookin’ at it.” 

“ Was your door open, Mrs. Sharkey ? ” 

“Judge, if ye cud see sich a thing but the wanst 
in yer life, I’m thinkin’ ye’d be holdin’ the door aff a 
trifle.” 

The Judge laughed in the minor chords, which 
soon merged into a fierce asthmatic struggle that 
changed the color of the blood in his face and neck 
to a deep purple. Upon partial recovery, he said to 
her, between his gasps for breath, “ Anything more ? ” 

“ Sure, it’s hersilf can till ye the rist av it, an’ I 
know she trusts ye an is a-likin’ av ye, ’cause whin she 
got the paper tellin’ about yer wife, that ye lost, she 
was that sorrerful for ye, an’ said ye was sich a nice 
man, an’ said she wished she was there to console wid 
ye, ’cause ye was sich a frind to her father, that she 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


2 G 5 


was almost a-lovin’ av ye. She’s that sweet an’ good, 
I’ma-lovin’ av her mesilf,an’ I’m hopin’ ye’ll git justice 
for her.” 

Mrs. Sharkey returned to Celestine and hurriedly 
gave her a condensed history of the interview with 
Judge Worthington, not forgetting the hints given 
him regarding the deep interest manifested by Celes- 
tine upon the occasion of his bereavement, and after 
commenting upon his personal peculiarities, added : 

“ He’s a-likin’ the ould wine I let ye take for him 
to drink while he’s stayin’ wid ye. He tuk three 
glasses whin I was a-talkin’ wid him, an’ he stopped 
it in his mouth to taste av it, as me husbin’ — rest his 
soul! — did wid the ould whisky whin he was a 
drinkin’ av it. An’ the coff he has — he’ll not be 
lastin’ long wid it.” 

As Celestine entered her parlor and received the 
greeting of Judge Worthington, she was assured by 
his kindly manner that Mrs. Sharkey had not only 
impressed him with the justice of her demands in 
“ Case Number 10,001,” but had also strengthened 
his belief in her integrity, and she thought of his 
assuring words after she was seated, “Celestine, I 
am satisfied,” as a repetition of previous information. 
She sat before him awaiting his further suggestions 
regarding her affairs, but he remained silent, and she 
saw by a side glance that he was again looking in- 


266 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


tently at her as if to read a story that might be traced 
upon her face and drapery. 

She drew the letters and memorandums from her 
pocket, changed her position and placed her foot 
upon the low footstool, the toe of her slipper pressing 
gently against the foot of Judge Worthington, and 
began to read as if absorbed, keeping her eyes con- 
stantly upon the papers in her lap. She read the 
papers through, then looked at the slipper on the 
footstool with an intensity of thought that traced its 
lines upon her face. Suddenly, as though an emo- 
tion of joy had taken possession of her being, her 
glorious smile flashed its enticements against the 
gaslight. She saw by the motions of the form 
within her vision that Judge Worthington was lean- 
ing far forward in the easy chair, and with the smile 
still in the glory of its fascination, she raised her eyes 
to his. In the flushed face, the bated breath and the 
devouring eyes, she read the story of her victory. 
As her name came quavering from his lips she leaned 
towards him in response to words that were to follow. 

Her name was the only word that came. The 
asthmatic cough had seized upon him, the purple 
shade crept over his face and neck as he pressed 
back in the easy chair, and the convulsions of the 
spasm shook his heavy form. Celestine hastened to 
his relief, stood behind the easy chair and held his 
head against her bosom, wiped away the gathering 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


267 


drops upon his forehead with her perfumed handker- 
chief, and cooled his face with her feather fan until 
his recovery, then adjusted his disarranged necker- 
chief and waistcoat, poured a full glass of wine and 
pressed it to his lips. A smile of gratitude covered 
his face as she held his head upon her arm and 
smoothed back the silver hair from his forehead. 
He caught the soft hand and reverently kissed it. 
It lingered upon his lips without resistance. In- 
spired by its touch, the dying spark of love in his 
heart kindled afresh, and as she gently drew his face 
against her bosom with the arm beneath his head, 
his voice quavered her name. He looked into her 
face for encouragement and held the coming words 
upon his tongue, but the soft brown eyes told no 
story. He dropped the hand which he had pressed 
to his lips, turned his head away from her, and inter- 
mingled with the sigh that came as if driven from 
his chest by giant sorrows she heard the whispered 
words that age repeats and re-repeats in hopeless 
tones, ‘‘Would I were younger!” 

Celestine bent over him, kissed him upon his fore- 
head, and in a low voice said to him, “ Love knows 
not age.” 

He turned in his chair, put his arms about her, 
drawing her face to his, and kissed her lips with 
choking pressure. As she drew away from him her 
head sought the table’s edge for support, and the 


268 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


smile upon her face had yielded to an ashen pallor. 
She made excuses, went to the dressing room and 
stood before the glass arranging her hair and dra- 
pery until the Hush of color came back ; then she 
returned with a smile upon her face, which he imag- 
ined was lighted by love. 

As she sat before him again in the low bamboo 
chair, he looked upon her with bewildered and wan- 
dering eyes, exclaiming, “ Is all this true ? Would 
you be my wife ? ” 

With becoming hesitation, Celestine answered, u If 
you should ask me, Judge Worthington. I can love 
you because you are good — because I trust in you.” 

u Did you not love the other when you promised 
to be his wife?” His eager face bore the light of a 
hope that she might make answer which would still 
the fear that came upon him as she drew away from 
his embrace by the easy chair. 

“ I was poor, Judge Worthington. I wanted a 
home where I could rest in safety from the tempta- 
tions of the world. He never asked me if I loved 
him. You cannot know a woman’s heart. I never 
thought that you might ask me to be your wife.” - 

She bent forward and rested her head upon his 
knee, and as he stroked her fine brown hair, he said 
in a pleading voice, “ F orgive me, Celestine, I know 
your truthfulness. Will you be my wife?” 

“Yes, Judge Worthington — your loving wife.” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


2G9 

As she rested in his arms and felt his kisses upon 
her lips, the warm blood again left her face, and the 
pallor came upon it more chilling than before. 

The hour was late, and after making an appoint- 
ment for the morrow afternoon, he said to her, “ This 
case must be dismissed. Our reputation must not 
be imperiled for the money that you might get.” 

Celestine answered, “All that I am or have is 
yours to direct,” and gave him a good-night kiss. 

As he reached the landing outside, she heard the 
echoes of an asthmatic cough. A glorious smile cov- 
ered her face. 

On the forenoon of the morrow, “ Case Number 
10,001 ” was stricken from the docket of the Superior 
Court. Had it reached a trial the Court Journal 
would have said : 

“Case Number 10,001. Celestine Lavosse vs. 
Leslie Montford. Breach of Promise of Marriage. 
Damages: $25,000. Plaintiffs Attorney: Worth- 
ington.” # * 

# 

Celestine sat upon the bamboo chair awaiting the 
arrival of Judge Worthington, in accordance 'with his 
afternoon appointment. She had drawn the curtains 
of her parlor to the measure of a subdued light and 
placed her chair near by a window and within the 
bright path traced along the carpet by the sun’s rays 
filtering through a yellow satin shade. She had 


270 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


sought among her wardrobe and found a dainty 
school dress of simple pattern and harmonious colors. 
Its skirt was partially covered in front with a neat 
embroidered apron of white, with ruffled pockets and 
broad lace edges. Around her neck a plain white 
collar standing within the neckband of her dress and 
secured in front by a golden button with a large gar- 
net centre stone. The solitaire lay in its velvet bed 
upon the dresser in the sleeping room. At her feet 
a silken ball rolled back and forth, sometimes whirl- 
ing about as she drew upon its thread to weave 
the meshes of an embroidery that lay on her lap. 
The yellow light mingled with her fine brown hair 
and reflected golden flashes from its ripples as she 
gently moved to the rhythm of her needle, and her 
glorious smile beamed in creamy tints as pleasant 
thoughts passed through her mind. She sat, a poem 
of enticement, and he who came within her presence 
might see a maid, a matron, or an angel, as she might 
wish to direct his thoughts. 

To a rap upon her door, she responded, “ Come ; ” 
still keeping her seat and plying the needle in the 
embroidery. As Judge Worthington entered the 
room, a smile came upon her face as a beacon of 
welcome. 

The tongue falters with the joy of meeting a long- 
absent child ; the eyes sparkle upon the sudden gain 
of unearned gold; but no child stills the faltering 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS: 


271 


tongue, and no mine of gold illuminates the eye, as 
the possession of youth and beauty to the eye and 
tongue of age. With his eyes fixed upon her, he 
walked slowly and silently to her side. She arose, 
and as his arms came about her and his kiss upon her 
lips, she returned his embrace and no pallor came 
upon her face. 

He sat again in the chair with cushioned arms and 
told her of his action in “Case Number 10,001,” 
then explained his views regarding the proper course 
to pursue in their future movements. He spoke of 
his age, of his need for companionship, of the prob- 
able opposition of his children to their marriage, and 
said that the engagement should be kept a secret 
until afterwards, which time he hoped that she might 
appoint not further than ten days, as within this time 
he could return home and quietly make arrangements 
for her presence. 

Celestine said, “ Whatever you decide upon has 
my approval, but I should be protected against all 
possible happenings, either from the unfriendliness 
of your children or among the uncertainties of the 
future. I pray that it may be many years, Judge 
Worthington, but you will go before me, and if I 
bear your name through my life, which I shall do, I 
should be secure in home and position that I may 
honorably do so.” 

“ Celestine ” the asthmatic cough again seized 


272 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


him. She went to his side and lovingly ministered 
to his comfort and smoothed the white hairs back 
from his temples after the spasm had spent its force. 
If he had intended opposition to her suggestions, the 
touch of the soft hand and the warm breath upon his 
face as she kissed his cheek, had driven it from his 
thoughts. 

When he fully recovered he said to her, “ I will 
provide for you beyond your expectations. The 
homestead shall be yours, with an endowment suffi- 
cient for the uses of luxury.” 

Her victory was complete. When he left her to 
return to his home and prepare for their marriage, 
he had given her assurances as follows : His home 
to be her own ; an endowment of fifty thousand dol- 
lars ; besides, her dower, when he died, would be 
large, for Judge Worthington was a very rich man. 
He would send money immediately upon his arrival 
at home, ample to purchase a sufficient wardrobe, and 
would return to her within ten days ; then a quiet 
wedding and a bridal tour. 

Judge Worthington had drunk often, during this 
interview, of the old wine provided by Celestine, and 
as its effects deepened his generosity expanded, until 
the world, if it were his, would be an offering to the 
beautiful woman who said she loved him. There is 
a folly deeper than that of age — the folly of wine. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


273 


Within this poison is the subtle chemistry of de- 
lusion. * * 

* 

“A letter containing a draft for one thousand 
dollars ! ” This was Celestine’s thought the second 
day after Judge Worthington’s departure for home, 
as she sat by her window watching for the postman 
to appear upon his morning rounds. 

As she enumerated her needs, the figures seemed 
to shrink among the folds of a bridal gown. She 
had heard her future husband speak of large amounts 
that were to be hers ; a home, thirty thousand ; an 
endowment, fifty thousand ; a dower soon, perhaps a 
hundred thousand, for Judge Worthington was a 
very rich man. As her thoughts brought to her 
mind satins and yellow laces, linens and skillful 
embroidery, the draft in the expected letter disap- 
peared in a bewilderment of costly fabrics wrought 
into dainty garments. She sighed deeply as she 
thought of the larger figures. 

The postman came around the corner above, 
crossed the street diagonally and walked directly 
towards her. She ran to the landing of the floor 
below and opened the outside door to meet him. 
He shook his head and passed on. He would come 
again at eleven. She drew the curtains of her parlor 
to soften the light, and reclined on the crimson 
lounge. The larger figures again came to her 


274 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


thoughts, and trooping after them came cushioned 
carriages, blooded horses with shining harness and 
elastic step, servants and dainty dishes, luxurious 
carpets yielding to the sinking foot, gorgeous fur- 
nishments and beds of luxury, homage from neigh- 
bors and passers-by, envy from women and admira- 
tion from men. She closed her eyes and dwelt upon 
the scene. The drowsy summer air crept under the 
drawn curtains and fanned her to sleep. 

To sleep! Perhaps the angel of purity comes to 
all in sleep and whispers words in the ear that find a 
lodgment in the soul, and will some time drive away 
the thoughts of sin and cleanse its chambers for her 
abode. Her room is sacred while she sleeps. 

The postman turned the corner at eleven and 
passed down the street upon the other side. He had 
no letter with a draft. He came again at four, and 
Celestine went upon the street to meet him. As he 
looked over the letters for the block and found none 
for her, he saw a shadow come upon her face that 
was something of fear and then of pain. She walked 
across the street and up the steps to the landing 
before Mrs. Sharkey’s door; then turned and watched 
the postman as he went from house to house. 
He turned into another street ; still she stood on the 
landing and looked at the corner where he had turned. 

A carrier came down the walk throwing his rolled 
papers here and there, in the porches and on the land- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


275 


ings of his customers. Impelled by mistaken aim, 
the one for Mrs. Sharkey struck Celestine’s hand 
and roused her to the action of the world. With 
manly apology the boy ran up the steps to the land- 
ing, raised the paper and placed it in her hand. She 
gave him no word, but turned and passed through 
the hall to Mrs. Sharkey’s room and threw the paper 
in her lap. 

As the paper always came during Mrs. Sharkey’s 
leisure hour, it was her custom to lie upon a lounge 
by the rear window and read until she fell asleep, 
which she usually did after reading the local news, 
the murders and accidents, and the marriages and 
deaths. Celestine took up the paper which had fallen 
to the floor and listlessly scanned the pages. Sud- 
denly she dropped it and sprang to Mrs. Sharkey’s 
side, calling her name as one imploring help. Mrs. 
Sharkey raised herself upon her elbow, overcome by 
the great Chicago fear, and exclaimed, “ Sure, what’s 
the matter ? Is it a fire ? ” 

“No! no ! Mrs. Sharkey; he is dead ! he is dead ! ” 

Celestine threw herself into the rocking-chair and 
covered her face with her hands. Mrs. Sharkey 
looked at her in astonishment, and said in a gentle 
voice : 

4 ‘ Sure, Mrs. Lavosse, ye must be a-likin’ av him. 
I niver see ye sheddin’ the tear but this wanst. 
Who’s dead ? ” 


276 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“ Oh, Mrs. Sharkey, Judge Worthington ! ” 

“ Ye can git anither leyer, sure, an’ what’s the dif- 
ference ? ” 

“ We were to be married next week. Oh, Mrs. 
Sharkey ! This will kill me ! ” 

“ Married, is it ! The howly saints ! Is that what 
ye was a-doin’ ? Ye’ll not be dyin’ wid it, nayther.” 

Mrs. Sharkey modified her opinion as Celestine’s 
head fell over the arm of the rocking-chair, an ashen 
pallor creeping over her face, and sprang to her side, 
raised the limp form in her arms, and laid it on the 
lounge. After much rubbing of hands, patting and 
shaking, the color returned to the face, the eyelids 
raised, and Mrs. Sharkey seated herself in the rock- 
ing-chair 4 and gazed at her long and earnestly, with- 
out speaking ; then rousing from the reverie she took 
the paper from the floor and began a search for the 
cause of Celestine’s demonstrations, repeating in a 
low whisper as she glanced from column to column, 
“Worthington, Worthington. Here it is, sure!” 
She carefully read and re-read the paragraph that had 
brought the first tears to a woman’s eyes : 

“ Special to the — . , July 12th, 1873. 

‘ 4 Judge Worthington, of this city, died suddenly 
last evening, of asthmatic suffocation, a few hours 
after his return from Chicago, where he had spent 
several days in the interest of a client to whom he 
gave his services because of family acquaintance. As 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


277 


he had been at leisure for many years, it is supposed 
that the labor incident to the case, together with the 
fatigue of the journey, proved too great a strain upon 
his weakened powers of endurance. 

“ He was seventy-six years of age, and has been a 
resident of this county during the past thirty years. 
He was at one time actively engaged in the practice 
of law, and was upon the bench for several years. 
A fortunate investment in land at an early day, near 
the then suburbs of the city, subsequently brought 
him great wealth. He leaves a large estate, at least 
of the value of five hundred thousand dollars, which, 
by the terms of his will, is equally divided among his 
three children.” 

“An’ ye won’t git any av it. Is that what ye’r 
a-faintin’ an’ a-cryin’ about, Mrs. Lavosse ? Niver 
mind, ye’ve got the hould on the ither wan.” 

At this remark, Celestine arose to a sitting posture 
and stamped her foot upon the floor, exclaiming, 
“ I’ve been a fool! ” 

“ Mebbe ye have, Mrs. Lavosse. I’ve not been 
wid ye all av the time. What is it ye’ve been doin’ ? ” 

u He wanted me to marry him, and he said that 
the suit would hurt our reputation, and he had money 
enough for me without that, and he went and dis- 
missed the suit, and he was my attorney, and he is 
dead, and I shall never get any money from him, and 


278 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


my money is all spent. What shall I do ? what shall 
I do ? ” 

“What will ye do? Ye’r not eddicated, Mrs. 
Lavosse, not highly eddicated ; an’ ye’r not good — I 
mane, not very good — an’ ye can’t git yer livin’ thim 
ways; but ye’r smart, ’specially whin somebuddy’s 
along wid ye to help ; an’ ye’r a nice-lookin’ woman, 
Mrs. Lavosse, an’ so long as min drink wine an’ 
whisky, an’ sich stuff, ye naden’t be worryin’.” 

Celestine made no answer, and Mrs. Sharkey con- 
tinued : 

“ An’ he wanted ye that bad, an’ ye let him git 
away from ye an’ go home widout marryin’ ye — an’ 
him wid that coff! Tin words, if ye’d said sp, an’ 
wan or two kisses, an’ thin foor bottles av ould wine 
in his stumic’, wud sint him for the minister, an’ thin 
he cud go home an’ stay there if he’d be wantin’ to, 
an’ thin ye cud lit go av the ither wan, or not, as 
ye’d be thinkin’ bist.” 

As Celestine contemplated the lost opportunities 
for shrewd action, as suggested by Mrs. Sharkey, she 
felt no inclination to continue a conversation which 
was not likely to strengthen that lady’s esteem for 
her. She put on her hat and went to her own 
rooms. 

Mrs. Sharkey laoked at her as she crossed the 
street, and reflected : 

“ Sure, some folks kin be jist as foolish widout 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


279 


wine as some ithers be wid it, or me name’s not 
Norah Sharkey.” 

On the first day of the ensuing month, Mrs. Shar- 
key called upon Celestine at her rooms in the second 
story opposite, and after a cool salutation, said to her, 
“ It’s not a-comin’ fer rint I am, Mrs. Lavosse, but I 
want me rooms, an’ it’s some ither place ye must be 
findin'.” 

“ But, Mrs. Sharkey, I have been here three years. 
I have always paid you promptly and will do so here- 
after.” 

“ It’s quiet ye’ve been, Mrs. Lavosse, thim three 
years, excipt av late. It’s complaints I’ve had, Mrs. 
Lavosse, from me ither roomers, wid ye a-diggin’ at 
the pianna, an’ singin’ thim songs, an’ the callers 
a-laffm’ an’ a-talkin’. It’s wantin’ me rooms I am.” 

What can I do with my furniture, Mrs. Sharkey?” 

“Do ye mane the rid lounge, an’ the springy chair, 
an’ the willy rocker, an’ the futstule, an’ the pianna ? 
All the rist is me own, I’m thinkin’. I’ll give ye the 
clushter back fer what belongs to yersilf in the rooms.” 

Without hesitation Celestine accepted this offer, 
took the ring from Mrs. Sharkey, put it on her finger 
and closed her hand tightly upon it. 

In the late afternoon of the next day an express- 
man stopped by the curb of the house opposite Mrs. 
Sharkey’s, made several trips up the stairs and 
brought down baggage, which he placed upon his 


280 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


wagon. When he had finished there were three large 
trunks, two smaller ones, and two satchels. 

A well-dressed city gentleman passing by upon the 
sidewalk heard a woman who stood on the landing 
give directions to the expressman. He heard the 
name of the street, but not the number. He noticed 
the load upon the wagon and then glanced at the 
woman. He judged by the numerous trunks and 
satchels that she possessed an ample wardrobe ; by 
the absence of a carriage, that her future residence 
was only an easy walking distance; by her dress, 
which was too showy for street wear, that she courted 
observation. As she perceived his attention, a sug- 
gestive smile flashed over her face. He knew that 
she was of the fallen classes. 

The following morning a piano mover stopped his 
car by the curb and showed to Mrs. Sharkey a con- 
tract for rental, signed “ Celestine Folsom.” His 
helpers brought a piano down the stairs, placed it in 
the car and drove away. Mrs. Sharkey stood in 
Celestine’s parlor and enumerated upon her fingers : 

“Fer the clushter I have wan rid lounge; wan 
springy chair ; wan willy rocker ; wan futstule ; no 
pianna. Sure, she’s sharper than I thot she was.” 


CHAPTER XVIII. 

Ideality is the reality of aspiration. To what 
thought conceives the soul may attain ; else, there 
is no Heaven. 

HERE is a love that 
tints the cheek with the 
carmine of desire ; 
that heaves the bosom 
with the sighs of emo- 
tion ; that sways the 
body to the rhythm of 
impulse, and lights the 
eye with the glow of 
passion. It is born 
amid the flashes of a 
smile. Its life is an 
ecstasy and then a pain ; a trust and then a doubt ; 
a worship and then a scorn. Its winding-sheet is 
the folds of a wrinkle. Its dirge is the echo of the 
wedding march of its devotees. 

There is a love that halts by the portals of the 
mind awaiting an answer to its summons ; that pre- 
sents credentials of its worthiness when admitted to 
the vestibule ; that enters the library of thought and 



282 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


reads the teachings of its volumes, then goes to the 
inner chambers of approval, near by the soul. Its 
life is a pleasure and then a joy ; a faith and then a 
fruition ; a hope and then a certainty. It never dies. 

The cousin of the second season, now fourth, stood 
before a large mirror in a dressing-room of John 
Haldon’s new home, and adjusted her positions to 
the direction of the chaperon who stood at the fur- 
ther side of the room, and made comments of 
approval or criticism as she noted gracefulness of 
action or defects in pose. Meanwhile, the debutante, 
now third season, sat upon a velvet rocker, pressing 
the toe of her white satin slipper against the carpet 
to hold her chair from motion as she gazed with 
admiration upon the richly dressed figure before the 
mirror. Sometimes, when the chaperon was silent 
for an instant, she made remarks upon a coming 
event, the anticipated pleasures of which brought a 
glow upon her face, and a dancing light in her eyes. 

“ To be sure,” she said, “ every one admitted that 
such a thing might happen, but I thought, and so did 
the rest of the girls, that their sentiments towards 
each other were only those of friendship, perhaps 
strengthened to a great respect by long association 
and knowledge of character. We never supposed 
that they loved each other, not really loved, and the 
girls all said that she had loved one man, and when a 
woman once loves ” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


283 


‘‘Yes, my dear,” interrupted the chaperon, “what 
you were about to say is doubtless true, in the event 
of her having really loved ; but we have sometimes 
known of a case in which a girl found herself deeply 
in love, and afterwards discovered that her senti- 
ments were but the result of an admiration for the 
face and form of a man.” 

The younger lady pushed the toe of her slipper 
against the carpet and rocked vigorously, looking 
steadily at the drapery of the cousin before the mir- 
ror while the chaperon was re-arranging the folds 
and laces. She soon regained her composure as 
thoughts of the coming event came and drove away 
memories of her own past experiences, which 
had evidently been of an impulsive sort, and again 
steadied the rocker, exclaiming as she did so : 

“ And there was no engagement ! Even cousin — 
who is her cherished friend — nev^r knew of it until 
last week, when she was invited to act as first brides- 
maid, and we received our invitation to the wedding 
upon the same day. Think of it ! no receptions ; 
no congratulations; no farewell teas. An evening 
appointed for the marriage; then the marriage. Not 
the least little bit of romance.” 

“Romance!” exclaimed the cousin. “Since I 
have been in society I have seen many things, and 
have almost come to believe that romance is but the 
maiden name of repentance. As for an engagement, 


284 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


it is often a bond that compels a girl, upon her honor, 
to do a dishonorable thing; as when, during the inti- 
macy of an engagement, she discovers qualities in 
the one to whom she has promised herself which 
lower her respect for him and bring a fear of the 
future to take the place of that perfect trust which 
should possess the one who places herself and all 
that she can hope for in this life to the direction and 
control of another. She would recede, but society 
gossips and exclaims against her. The bond says, 
‘Marry him,’ and she taints her soul as she rests her 
hand in his and promises to love and honor him.” 

The younger lady rocked and reflected, a look of 
bewilderment coming upon her face as if the thoughts 
expressed by the cousin were at variance with her 
own opinions and their deeper meaning somewhat 
beyond her comprehension. That her reflections 
brought no clear light to her mind upon the subject 
was evident, as she soon ceased the motions of the 
rocker with her toe and anxiously inquired : 

“No romance? No engagement? In what pleas- 
ant anticipations may a young lady indulge herself?” 

The chaperon, who had now completed the ar- 
rangement of the cousin’s drapery to her satisfaction, 
answered : 

“In the anticipation of a pleasant life companion- 
ship, if, instead of the froth of romance, she partakes 
deeply of the substance of reality ; and if, instead of 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


285 


an indulgence in the raptures of an engagement, she 
employs that time in the analysis of her own charac- 
ter and that of her possible husband, to know if they 
are both mentally and morally capable of supplying 
the needs of that companionship. When her clear 
thought, unswayed by romance, can decide in favor of 
a marriage, then an engagement is but a shortening 
of the real pleasure of life, and she may appoint the 
nuptials upon the day in which she can soonest call 
her friends together to witness them. My child, a 
thoughtful girl is a queen, who keeps her royal self 
to herself until a worthy king comes. When he 
comes, and her unbiased quest recognizes him, then 
is the marriage feast already spread. Of such are 
they who await the first bridesmaid. Let us go to 
them.” 

1 A trembling, blushing maiden, who reaches her 
hand to him who rules the principality of flowers and 
sylvan shades which her fancy has painted upon the 
landscape of the future. A love-stricken youth, who 
takes the hand of a fairy with rapturous expectancy 
that she will plant the flowers and grow the sylvan 
shades which his fancy has painted upon the waste 
places of this principality. 

These love ! the lower love that sickens when 
they pass the rose-strewn borders of their enchanted 
land and see beyond bare plains that wait the hand 
of toil and brain of thought to grow their verdure 


286 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and find their hidden streams. These, halt and look 
upon each other with reproachful eyes. Love dies, 
and in his place a wraith that sometimes comes to 
hours of ease in shining draperies, which change to 
somber robes in days of toil and hide beneath their 
folds the closet skeleton. 

A thoughtful, earnest woman, who rests her hand 
in that of one who, by the actions of his youthful days, 
has shown to her the certain pleasures which await 
her in his life companionship. A man, untainted by 
the evils of the lower associations with men, clasps 
the hand of her who he knows will be his helper 
to the better places of life. 

These love ! the higher love that purifies in the 
sunlight of joys ; that meets the duties of life and 
strengthens with their accomplishments ; that stands 
within the shadows of sorrow and deepens as it 
mourns. This goes with them to the end of life. 
Perhaps it enters the soul and lives beyond. It is 
worthy. 

Standing serenely in the light of this higher love 
were they who joined their hands beneath a canopy 
of flowers in the parlor of the Haldon home and 
made the vows that always bind and sometimes 
unite. The seal of approval was placed upon their 
bonds. 

Josephine Morton approved. She had searched 
the history of her young husband and found therein 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


287 


no lines of shame. Recorded on its pages were no 
scenes of rioting or folly. Among its chapters she 
read the story of chaste pleasures and earnest work. 

Horace Morton approved. He had held himself 
aloof from the unnatural associations of men with 
men. His mother’s voice had greater charms in 
leisure hours than the eloquence of the banquet table 
or conversation of the club. He knew himself to be 
a fit companion of purity, a rightful guest to rest 
within her chambers. 

John Haldon approved. His days of dread and 
shame were ended. He felt that over his daughter’s 
head there gathered no cloud holding within its inky 
folds a shaft to pierce her soul as one had pierced 
the soul of her mother, who now stood beside him 
and gave approval with tears of joy. 

Judge Heron gave his approval, as amid his con- 
gratulations were heard the words, “You have found 
the truth.” 

The chaperon approved. Experienced in social 
life, she had seen the nuptial couch strewn with 
flowers and the mother’s bed upholstered with 
thorns. She knew the cause. It was not offered to 
these guests. 

The first bridesmaid approved, as she gave to 
Josephine her wish for happiness, with a hope that 
her own future might show the same clear light, and 
as she glanced towards the groom’s best man a radi- 


288 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


ance came upon her face that seemed to be of faith. 

The debutante absorbed the sentiment from those 
around her, and offered a silent prayer that she might 
be given strength of mind to choose in wisdom. 

The guests departed, and the hush of a starlit 
night fell as a mantle around the birthplace of a 
deathless love. 

JUDGE HERON’S NARRATIVE. 

Two years after the marriage of Josephine Haldon 
and Dr. Horace Morton, I was called to the bedside 
of an invalid friend, whose home was on Michigan 
avenue, near Sixteenth street. I spent a portion of 
the night with him, and at the hour of one I left his 
bedside, went upon the street and walked towards my 
home. My course lay through the business section 
of the city, as that home was north of the river near by 
John Haldon’s. At Twelfth, I turned to State street, 
and as I went towards the centre, strains of music 
filled the night air, meeting me with louder welcome 
as I walked. F ar down the sidewalk, around the gas- 
lights upon its edge, I saw men and women walking 
about, sometimes entering the doors where great 
streams of light poured out across the street. Anon 
a carriage or a cab rolled over the pavement, leaving 
its load to swell the throng upon the sidewalk, or 
turning into a side street disappeared in its shades. 
Approaching nearer, I heard shouts and broken frag- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


289 


ments of song ; men’s voices bearing oaths and ribald 
sentences ; women’s voices in shrill words of familiar 
recognition and vulgar phrase, mingling with the 
music of competing instruments : here a piano ; there 
a harp ; yonder a violin ; across the street a brass- 
band in an enc4osure filled with tables and stunted 
evergreens, and called a garden. Coming among 
the people I paused and looked about me. 

Will the people of the Asylum forgive me for 
holding in my mind a comparison to them ? This was 
only for a moment. 

A woman swept by me in search of a rival, drop- 
ping from her tongue foul expletives of revenge. 
The woman at the Asylum tears the hair of her sister 
patient, and a moment afterwards covers her head 
with tears. This one had murder in her soul. Two 
men came rushing from the garden and engaged 
in combat upon the street. The sight of blood 
brought thirst for more, and a mangled face looked 
upwards to the gaslight with the gaze of insensibility 
as the other still rained blows upon it with hands and 
feet. The man at the Asylum strikes a sudden blow, 
then mourns and strives to bind the wound he has 
made. These had within their hearts the brutality 
of torture. The man and woman of the Asylum 
drink no poison. The blood of these was filled 
with it. 

Of the lower classes ! were they ? I saw among 

19 


290 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


them the daughter of a schoolmate, the son of a 
wealthy neighbor, the widow of a gentleman, and the 
husband of a Christian woman. There passed in at 
the open doors, through the streams of light, mer- 
chants and salesmen, clerks and artisans, city and 
county officials, women of former social rank, and 
girls whose mothers were good women ; all afflicted 
with a positive insanity ; a mania for a drug. 

As I passed on, I reflected that the people of the 
Asylum were confined and protected from the results 
of a mania, which they might gratify in their delu- 
sions, and that they were attended by those who 
were not afflicted. I knew from my study of chemis- 
try and physiology that the belief in the benefits of 
alcohol as a drink was a delusion ; that after a little 
indulgence a mania was developed ; and why should 
not the ones who are afflicted with this mania be pro- 
tected from its gratifications and results by those who 
are untainted ? 

As I reached street, a few doors below the 

corner, I noticed a small gathering of men upon its 
sidewalk, who seemed to be in controversy with a 
party in a carriage, the top of which had been low- 
ered at either end. Recognizing the voice of a busi- 
ness acquaintance, I turned, went near the group and 
stood within the entrance of a building near by. 
Among those upon the sidewalk was my acquaint- 
ance, who had a large interest in a wholesale dry- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


291 


goods house, and beside him, engaged in conversation 
with two men in the carriage, was a member of a 
firm prominent in the wholesale clothing trade. Be- 
tween these two upon the sidewalk and those in 
the carriage there was evidently a difference of opin- 
ion regarding future procedure, for the younger man, 
who sat on the front seat and facing towards my place 
of observation, said in a loud voice : 

“ You gentlemen can go home if you wish, but we 
are going to see the rest’ of it.” 

As he said this, he seemed to lose his balance 
somewhat and extended his hand towards the arm of 
the seat to aid himself in regaining it. That he had 
miscalculated the length of the seat was evident, as 
his hand went some distance above the point at which 
it was aimed and grasped the air beyond, while his 
head and shoulders fell with much force against the 
intended support. The older man, upon the rear 
seat, assisted him to a proper position, but with much 
awkwardness ; and the tall hat of the younger man, 
which the older one had endeavored to smooth and 
adjust, was still indented as he pressed it heavily upon 
its owners head in a reverse position, at the same 
time saying : 

4 ‘That we are, and if you ever come to Burling- 
ton, I’ll take you to a temperance meeting, and that 
will make things even ” 

The Clothing-man removed the hat, placed it in its 


292 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


proper position, and said, somewhat contemptuously : 

“You have got enough now, and you don’t seem 
to stand it very well, either. You had best go in 
here and take something with us, then go to a hotel 
and take a rest.” 

“Sir,” said the younger man, with evident anger, 
“when did you acquire the right to direct my con- 
duct or to judge of my capacity for enjoyment? 
Besides, this place is closed. It is a decent place 
and is never open after twelve o’clock.” 

“And it’s the fun we are after, and not the drink,” 
said the older man on the back seat. “ We can get 
the drink anywhere, even at Burlington, and we can’t 
have a good time every day — not at Burlington.” 

“No trouble to get in here,” said the Dry-goods 
man. “There are lights in the private rooms, and 
the alley door is always open ; at least, I have never 
found it closed. Isn’t that so, Officer?” speaking to 
a roundsman who stood near by taking a mild in- 
terest in the proceedings. 

The roundsman answered, “ They ain’t any doubt 
of it, sir. It’s open till the gentlemen in the rooms 
is done with their playin’, which the same is most 
generally mornin’, after I quit.” 

“Well, .this may be true,” said the younger man 
in the carriage, “ but our disposition is to go else- 
where. We would be pleased to enjoy your com- 
pany, but as we cannot agree we should part in 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


293 


friendship. Officer, go up the alley and tell the 
barkeeper to bring a large bottle of Pommery Sec to 
a party outside.” 

A silver dollar thrown from the carriage struck the 
sidewalk near the roundsman’s feet, which that person 
speedily captured and put into his pocket. Hastily 
turning, he disappeared in the darkness of the alley, 
and soon returned, saying, “All right, gentlemen,” 
and started up the street to finish his round. 

The party awaited the coming of the barkeeper. 
In the meantime, the younger man in the carnage 
became profuse in his apologies to the Clothing-man 
for the hasty speech in response to his advice ; 
steadied himself upon the side of the carriage and 
reached his hand over the edge of the sidewalk to 
take the grasp of renewed friendship. As he did so, 
his balance again deserted him and he fell with his 
body across the narrow space between the carriage 
and the curb. With the assistance of the man from 
Burlington, aided by efforts from those upon the 
sidewalk, he was restored to a proper position. 

Soon the barkeeper came from the door bearing a 
large bottle of champagne and four glasses upon a 
silver tray. When he had uncorked the wine he 
poured it out and gave a glass to the Dry-goods-man, 
one to the Clothing-man, next carefully handed one 
to the man from Burlington, and then laid his tray 
upon the sidewalk, put a foot inside the carriage and 


294 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


held the fourth glass to the lips of the younger man, 
saying, “Allow me.” The younger man put his 
hand against the bottom of the glass and immedi- 
ately drained it. The others sipped leisurely, mean- 
while talking with the barkeeper, who afterwards, by 
the order of the Clothing-man, brought a glass of 
whisky to the driver of the carriage. As the bar- 
keeper waited the convenience of the driver, the 
younger man laid his head heavily against the cush- 
ioned back of his seat, his tall hat rolled to his lap, 
and his eyes closed as if in sleep. 

^he barkeeper exclaimed, “ He’s done up ! ” and 
taking the glass from the hand of the driver, went 
back to his place within. 

A police sergeant, passing by upon his round of 
inspection, looked at the sleeping man in the car- 
riage, smiled and kept on his way. The older man 
on the rear seat said, “If we were in Burlington, 
we’d all be arrested,” and scrambled out of the car- 
riage to the sidewalk. The driver stepped inside 
his carriage, laid the younger man along the seat, 
placed a lap-robe under his head and arranged his 
feet comfortably upon the rear seat, then hastily 
drew the canopy of his carriage together with either 
hand, lowered the side curtains and stepped upon 
the sidewalk, closing the door, and looked enquir- 
ingly at the three companions. 

“ He is dead drunk,” said the Clothing-man. 



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THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


295 


“He can’t stand it with older men,” said the man 
from Burlington, who had grasped the arm of the 
Clothing-man to steady himself. “ He’s not sea- 
soned.” 

‘‘Where shall we send him?” said the Dry-goods 
man. “Not home, surely — his mother is an invalid ; 
not to his club — he would never hear the last of it.” 

“ Not to a hotel,” said the driver. “We’d have to 
carry him to his room, and the papers might get 
a-hold of it. I know where he’d say go, if he could 
talk.” 

“Well, Tom,” said the Clothing-man to the driver, 
“we all know you. You take good care of him. We 
will go home ; ” and taking the arm of the man from 
Burlington, they went down the sidewalk and crossed 
the street to that gentleman’s hotel. Tom climbed to 
his seat, turned his horses and drove into State street. 

As the Dry-goods-man passed me, walking alone, 
he chanced to turn his head in my direction and 
recognized me. With profuse apology he excused 
his presence upon the street at that late hour, and as 
we walked to State street, he said : 

“ My business interests compel me to actions of 
which I cannot approve, in a man of my age, and 
our method of entertaining customers is among them. 
I shall soon assign this to a younger man.” 

I stood upon the corner of the curb and reflected 
upon the deeper meaning of this remark. I then 


296 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


asked him of the two who were in the carriage, and 
he answered : 

“The older gentleman is a retail merchant from 
Burlington, and the other is ‘The Junior Partner/ 
of the wholesale house of 1 Montford & Son.’ ” 

He left me to go to his home, which was in an 
opposite direction to mine. I stood upon the curb 
and watched the carriage as it drove down State 
street. By the dim light of a gas lamp upon the 
corner, I saw it turn and disappear in Hubbard 
Court. 

I crossed to the opposite side of the street, towards 
my home, stopped and looked back to the place 
where the carriage had stood. All was still and the 
sidewalk empty. The great gilt letters above reflected 
the light from the hotel windows and read, “ Lowman 
Stone. 


I nfluenced by accordant companionship, there comes 
to the pure soul a consciousness that is not conveyed 
by the material senses ; a knowledge of things not 
seen ; the harmonies of a language not heard. In 
this language there are no words of faith or hope ; 
no sentences of doubt or prayer. In the volumes of 
this knowledge there are no arguments nor proofs ; 
no questions nor inferences. It is a consciousness of 
truth conveyed by a celestial sense ; the lowest, per- 
haps, and the only one penetrating the earth- 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


297 


encumbered soul. With this illumination that soul 
comprehends a love which first envelopes its approved 
companion, expands as it strengthens, embracing 
the earthly family, and when the hour comes that 
higher celestial senses yield their harmonies, this love 
takes to itself all who are consonant with its purity. 
In the harmonies of these higher senses there is no 
touch of a lovers hand and no sound of a bride- 
groom’s voice. A true marriage is but the first 
embrace of a love that will some time enfold all equal 

intelligences. # # 

# 

In a later year it was my good fortune to be a fre- 
quent and welcome visitor to the home of Horace 
and Josephine' Morton. This home was erected upon 
a quiet residence street, fronting one of the most 
attractive parks of the city, commanding also a view 
of the driveways leading thereto, and of the lake 
beyond. It seemed as if retiring to the edge of the 
deeper shade bordering a lawn dotted with evergreen 
shrubbery and traced by winding walks. 

There was a something which drew me towards 
that home, and often in lonely hours, my heart sick 
with the companionship of a bustling city, I would 
think of the flood of peace coming over me as I 
entered its borders and took a seat within its portals. 
Then would I hasten to its enchantment. Was this 
the child, then a girl of five, who met me upon the 


298 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


walk one summer day and placed her hand in mine 
with gleeful welcome ? She plucked the flowers from 
the wayside lawn and arranged their colors in blended 
harmony, telling me, meanwhile, of their beauties 
and their meaning. As she led me upon the porch 
I felt the coarser things of life drawing away from 
me, while in their places came the refining memories 
of childhood hours. She called the mother, who gave 
me greeting and attended me to her parlors, which 
held within their adornments an ineffable sense of 
home. Her discerning hand had wrought among 
pleasing tints and placed relating colors on vase and 
canvas, on antique wood and soft upholstery. Her 
daily thought had given inspiration to all the furnish- 
ments, which seemed to say, “ Mother and child are 
here, but they await another.” As she sat before me 
in animated conversation, sentences bearing a loving 
thought of that other mingled with her observa- 
tions upon literature, society and events, while from 
her steadfast eyes there shone upon me a light of 
purity and truthfulness that cleansed my heart from 
worldly impulse and fitted me to sit within her pres- 
ence. The child drew near to her and placed its 
head against her bosom. 

Were these the cause of my enchantment ? 

Or was it he whose hastening footsteps came along 
the walk and drew them both with joyous movements 
to the vestibule ? The summer air poured through 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


299 


the opened door and wafted to the silent parlors the 
words that bind the souls of men with links eternal. 
He took my hand and in the grasp I felt the magnet 
stream of fellowship. In his clear eyes and manful 
face I saw the sincerity that childhood trusts. 

We went upon the porch and sat within its shades. 
The throngs of Sunday afternoon poured through 
the driveways in glistening equipage filled with 
sombre dress, gay colors and swaying parasol. They 
spread among the parkways and formed a maze of 
changing tints that softened in the shadow of foliage 
or deepened in the light, as with a slower pace they 
came within the perfumed air that lingered on its 
way across the banks of flowers. The shimmering 
blue beyond touched the eastward sky and bore upon 
its waves a fleet of white sails that leaned against the 
full sunlight and broke its yielding rays, which fell 
in flashing fragments upon the rolling foam below. 
No word was spoken as our eyes drank in the beauty 
of the scene. The child reclined against her mother’s 
side and held the flowers, culled from the lawn, in 
the hand that rested on her lap. A gentle exclama- 
tion of loving words, holding in their endearing 
utterance the names of father and mother, drew my 
attention to the group. 

Here was my enchantment ! 

Over the head of their child, the eyes of father 
and mother met in a silent communion. Beaming 


300 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


from his, I saw a light that with its strength would 
dim the lustre of faith to darkness, while over her 
face there gathered a radiance more glorious than 
the illumination of hope. I knew that a celestial 
sense was pouring its truths into their souls. As the 
child turned her face upwards towards the mothers 
her lips parted as if in awe of something she could 
not know; her hand loosed its grasp around the 
flowers, and they rolled in spreading course along 
her mother’s drapery and fell in a crescent about her 
feet ; an oriole flashed its gorgeous plumage across 
an angle of the porch, and, as if from his wings, I 
felt the harmonies of that sense enter my being and 
almost touch my soul — almost. 



Judge Heron’s Investigations. 


my last visit to the Asylum 
I had expressed a desire for 
a further study of insanity, 
and in accordance with an 
invitation by Doctor Peters, 
I afterwards called upon him 
and was given an escort to 
show me through the eastern 
buildings, where the violent 
and demented inmates were 
confined. 

Immediately upon entering 
one of these buildings I was conscious that I was 
among a people differing from those whom I had 
met upon my former visits, although I had as yet 
seen none of them. Straps and other restraining 
apparatus hung upon the walls of the attendants’ 
rooms ; heavy solid doors, in the place of lattices, 
closed some of the ward rooms, from behind which 
I heard muffled shouts and the droning of delirious 
song. Through the corridors floated humming 



302 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


echoes as if from swarms of sobs and groans, and the 
air was filled with mingled odors of sickness and 
fierce exertions. 

The attendant said to me that I could not go 
among these as I had done among those in the 
western building, for they might attack me, and that 
no information could be gained from their conversa- 
tion, as it was limited to shouts and meaningless 
speech ; but that I could look through the window at 
those in the yard and could see the others in the 
closed rooms, and he would tell me all that he knew 
about them. He opened the door of a room, and 
near its center stood a man dressed in a heavy canvas 
suit made as one garment. A heavy leather strap 
was around his waist, and his arms were firmly fast- 
ened to it on either side with broad straps secured 
by strong iron buckles. He paid no heed to our 
attentions, but continued with his violent movements. 
He threw his head from side topside, then forwards 
and backwards, with a jerk that suggested spinal 
dislocation ; and then whirled it around as though to 
wrench it from his body ; then raised his shoulders 
and arms as far as his straps would permit, and threw 
them downwards with a force that strained the heavy 
leather belt. 

This he continued until his exertions tired my sight, 
and I expected to see him drop to the floor in 
exhaustion ; but he started again with the throwing 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


303 


of his head, and then the swinging-, then the plung- 
ing of his arms and shoulders, which he repeated 
until 1 could look at him no longer. The muscles of 
his shoulders and his neck stood out in bunches and 
thick ropes ; the blood of physical health showed red 
upon his face, illuminating a deep scar across his 
temple. 

The attendant said, “ He was an architect, who 
fell through the elevator shaft of a building that he 
had constructed ; and when his wound was healed he 
was sent to this Asylum, since which time there has 
been no change in his condition. He never sleeps, 
not as we know sleep, but falls upon the floor when 
his body is exhausted by his violence, and when his 
strength returns, he again begins his violent routine. 
During the night the attendants can hear him through 
the door ; hear the jerking of his head, and the 
resounding thud upon his belt and straps.” 

“No spells of reason?” The attendant told me 
that he had no spells of any kind ; that he was a 
maniac ; and, in common with others of that class, 
was uniform in his action. 

Another door was opened, and the man within ran 
to a corner of the room ; crouched down and covered 
his face with his arms ; shouted in tones of terror ; 
trembled, and uttered broken sentences that seemed 
like gasps of prayer ; then turned and tried to push 
his head through the corner of the room. 


30 4 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


The attendant said, “ He sleeps but little. I have 
never been informed of the cause of his insanity. 
Sometimes, when he sleeps, he will suddenly awake 
and sit upright in his bed ; then point with his 
hands and say, 4 The fire ! the fire ! God help me 
out!’ We assume from this, that he was made 
insane through fright. He never has spells.” 

We looked in at a latticed door. A man who sat 
on a low stool, pointed to the ceiling with his right 
hand, and with his left pushed away the clouds which 
seemed to be constantly gathering before his sight. 
Soon, both hands were busy with the clouds, pushing 
them upwards, sidewise, and away in front. Then 
he would gaze in rapture upon the sight revealed, 
and point, and indicate the scenes. Then he would 
repeat his motions, and follow them through in the 
same routine as before. 

The attendant said, il When he eats, he keeps 
away the clouds and points with one hand, and puts 
his food to his mouth with the other. His motions 
are constant, and his rest as trances of exhaustion. 
He has been here ten years — ever since his wife was 
killed in a railroad accident and mutilated before his 
eyes, while he escaped unhurt. He is always the 
same. He has no spells.” 

In another room, a man was stretched upon a bed, 
a mattress of straw, without motion or the power to 
hear. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


305 


The attendant said, “ During several years he was 
in the other building. When he came here he did 
not appear to be insane, and was very intelligent. 
He would occasionally have spells of melancholy, 
that grew in intensity and duration, until they met 
together, and his life is now a blank. He will shed 
tears without manifesting other indications of sorrow. 
Occasionally, one in his condition, who has been sub- 
ject to spells, will regain his reason as he is about to 
die, and speak as a sane person. The others all die 
in the darkness of Dementia. 

The scene in the yard, where some were exercis- 
ing, was a multiplied exhibition of like character to 
those in the rooms, modified by less violent demon- 
strations ; and only those had spells who were 
brought from the western building because of 
violence. 

I observed that among the maniacs and lunatics 
there was no action along the line of national char- 

i 

acteristics, but that their demonstrations took similar 

forms when impelled by identical causes. I also 

found that, like those of our earlier civilization, they 

had no spells from the influence of the moon or 

otherwise, but their eyes and the movements of their 

bodies always suggested a fellowship with chains 

and straps, iron bedsteads and bolted doors. Within 

their souls there were no thrills of joy or pangs of 

sorrow. It was to them that the lexicon pointed and 
20 


306 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


called them madmen ; and to them the orator gave 
thought when he said, “ Insanity is a living death.” 

I now could see a clear division between the action 
and character of those who had received their mental 
blows from enemies that were external, and those 
who suffered from the subtle thrusts of blades within. 
The darkness of Dementia was over the one ; the 
light of Reason shone through the delusions of the 
other. Oblivion was the comfort of the one ; fierce 
imaginations the rage of the other. Forgetfulness 
soothed the one ; memory hissed in the ear of the 
other. One was a paradise of unconsciousness ; the 
other a hell of thought. 

As I stood by the window looking out upon the 
mass of crouching forms, swaying bodies and dis- 
torted faces, perplexing my mind for the reason of 
that which I saw, and had -seen and heard in the 
western buildings, Doctor Peters came through the 
ward on his daily round of inspection and asked me 
if I felt myself wiser than before. Upon my assur- 
ance that wisdom had strayed into the thickets of 
perplexity and doubt, and I only knew that my for- 
mer views were incorrect, he said, “Studious minds 
with broad conceptions of the truth will store away 
facts when found upon the path of their investiga- 
tion, and patiently search for others that might have 
escaped their notice. New truths are being uncov- 
ered constantly, and new lights are being thrown 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


S07 


upon all the relations of universal things. What we 
before accepted as a finality we now know to be 
incomplete, and the conclusions but a primal advance- 
ment. It is amid the perplexities of unsatisfied 
thought that the brightest jewels of truth are found, 
and he who doubts is the discoverer. Experience 
and facilities for observation would aid you to correct 
conclusions, and when my duties are performed I 
will come to your help with a few suggestions re- 
garding causes.” 

While he was away I looked upon those before 
me, as a whole, comparing them with the multitude 
in the western buildings, and the lines of dissimilarity 
grew broader. I was not surprised, when he returned, 
that he should say, “The deeper study is among the 
others. In the most of these, cause and effect are 
interlined in the history of their action; the paralysis 
of the intellect can be traced to injuries, frights, and 
agonies of sorrow. Like causes will make an animal 
insane, but no animal was ever affected as are the 
people in the western building. These are a hun- 
dred ; those a thousand. Let us go through the 
wards and enclosures to observe them as a whole.” 

The wards were nearly empty. A few who were 
old or ailing were about the corridors, and those who 
were in their spells of delusion were locked in their 
rooms. Some were about the grounds, and those 
who were not trustworthy were in the enclosures. 


308 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Doctor Peters led the way into one of the enclos- 
ures, and as I hesitated to follow, he assured me that 
I would be perfectly safe ; but I was somewhat dis- 
turbed when the first man whom we met raised his 
hands over my head and shouted the six horrible 
words that troubled Haldon in his delirium, and I 
looked for the skeleton arms and intertwining lizards. 
The Doctor asked him who it was that he wished 
such harm, and he said, everybody — his father and 
his mother — no, not his mother, but everybody else 
who had given him whisky and sent him to such a 
place as this. The Doctor said that this was his 
mania ; that he would repeat the prayer as long as he 
had life ; and in the coming years the words that cursed 
the ones who encouraged others to drink would go 
up hourly from that Asylum, sometimes a prayer, 
sometimes a curse, “God send their souls to hell ! ” 
and that our conclusions might sustain him in the 
justice of his pleadings. 

Doctor Peters said, “In a search for cause we 
must be guided by effect, not upon the individual, 
as it might be obscured by special demonstrations 
confined to personality ; but upon the whole, or per- 
haps, with greater satisfaction in this case, upon 
groups ; and, as they better serve the purpose of my 
argument, we will study those along the line of 
nationalities. 

"That this argument may be clearer as we pass 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


309 


along, I will now state the proposition which my 
thought and experience supports. Leaving out of 
mind the few whom you saw in the eastern building, 
whose presence there we concede to be occasioned 
by external causes ; and holding in consideration the 
thousand who are before us, walking upon the path 
of delusion, I say of them, Alcohol is the great in- 
sanity creator ; fierce and unrelenting in its direct, 
and subtle and persistent in its hereditary action. 

“ Bereft of the restraining powers of the mind all 
# would be insane, and the instant that alcohol 
touches the brain the robbery begins. That its 
direct action is insanity needs little argument. Ask 
the financier who puts it in his mouth, then wastes 
his gold in foolish ventures. Ask the lawyer who 
seeks its stimulating powers, then covers himself with 
the confusion of delusive controversy. Ask the 
gentleman who wakes the echoes of the night with 
a lunatic’s song bourne by the breath of wine. Ask 
the boon companion who killed his friend, as a 
maniac would, without a cause. Ask the inebriate 
who trembles with fear at the delusions of blood and 
serpents, and hears the howling demons and the 
whispering spirits of the Asylum. Then ask those 
around us, within these grounds, and they will all tell 
you that they are brothers in the household of mania. 

a Those who are afflicted with mania, produced by 
the direct action of alcohol, may recover a partial 


310 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


control of their mentalities. I say partial, because 
the machinery of the mind does not again move with 
the freedom of perfection, but assumes the move- 
ments of an injured body that recovers to the per- 
formance of the functions that sustain life, without 
the buoyancy of growth and .perfect health. Those 
to whom the blight of alcohol has come through the 
generations before them, and fastened upon the body 
depraved tastes and trembling nerves, and upon the 
mind the intermittent throbbings of delusion, are the 
ones to whom the darkness of annihilation were a 
blessing ; and those are here about you, the victims 
of heredity. 

“An awful thought, you say. This cannot be. 
This is not truth. 

“ Here, I ask you, if all things pertaining to the 
man are not transmitted from his ancestors? His 
form, his nerves, his brain, his diseases and his 
strength ; his desires and his habits : his tendencies 
and his peculiarities ; and everything that is of the 
man, in like condition as his parents ; and is any one 
living wholly responsible for what he is, either in 
form or action ? 

“ The ways of the insane from internal causes are 
the ways of the man under the influence of alcohol ; 
even when the insane person has never tasted it. 

“ Lest you should apply the reverse of this prop- 
osition, I will hold you to its direction by saying, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


311 


that no tribe or nation, from the oldest history to 
the present day, which has not used alcohol as a 
beverage, nor opiates as a habit, ever had among its 
people, Monomania, Melancholia, or any of their 
kindred nervous insanities. 

“It is not my purpose to fortify my argument with 
extracts or quotations from sacred books, but in the 
Bible of the Jews we find a history that in its narra- 
tive records the daily life and action of tribes and 
nations, of communities and families, and of men and 
women ; that allows nothing of interest to escape, 
either in its mental, moral, or natural gleanings. We 
find that no drunken people were mentioned until 
the days of Noah, and his drunkenness was thought 
a shame. 

“The inference is that the tribes of Moses used 
wine as a table luxury, as in his rules for sacrifices he 
directs the use of a hin of oil and half a hin of wine. 
We see that in his time the inordinate use of wine 
was condemned, as it is to the end of the history ; 
and its abuse was no doubt spreading, but as yet 
there was no mention of insanity, and Moses dealt 
with every possible relation of life and spoke of 
those in bondage and in prisons. ' 

“Further down, in Deuteronomy, we find that the 
stubborn son was a glutton and a drunkard ; that he 
w T as condemned to be stoned to death ; and the 
mother of Samson was commanded to drink no wine 


312 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


or strong drink that her child might be perfect in 
strength. This recognizes not only the injury of 
alcohol, but also that its weakness will be inherited. 
As yet we see no mention of insanity as a state of 
being. Further on we find that the insane and 
hereditary effects of alcohol are being noticed. 

“ Isaiah says, 1 Woe unto them that rise up early 
in the morning that they may follow strong drink ; 
they regard not the work of the Lord, neither con- 
sider the operation of His hands. Therefore My 
people are gone into captivity because they have 
no knowledge.’ And, ‘Woe to them that are mighty 
to drink wine, and men of strength to mingle strong 
drink ; their root shall be as rottenness, and their 
blossom shall go up as dust.* 

“ Isaiah not only condemns the use of wine and 
strong drink as a means of stimulation, but refers to 
insane actions of the most positive nature, and 
through him the Lord says, ‘ I will choose their 
delusions and bring their fears upon them.’ These 
are the first intimations that we find in the Jewish 
history of the knowledge of insanity from internal 
causes. 

“ That the dire effects of alcohol were appreciated 
by these ancient people may be inferred by the story 
of the Rechabite ; that he nor his children would 
drink wine, and the Lord commended it'by saying, 

‘ Jonadab, the son of Rechab, shall not want a man 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


313 


to stand before Me forever.’ In all this we find an 
element that Moses knew not of ; and of which Sol- 
omon, with a knowledge of all the earth, made no 
mention; because it had not yet appeared to either 
of them ; and we can safely infer that the abuse of 
alcohol was not common until after they had passed 
away; that when it spread to be an evil the writers 
of the time noted its action upon the man, his reason, 
and his heredity. 

“Let us notice the North American Indian. We 
have known of him four hundred years ; have been 
intimately acquainted with him two hundred. We 
came into his domains and built Insane Asylums all 
around him. Did he have use for them ? Not until 
within this century. Why does he use them now ? 

“He could be made insane, when first we knew 
him, by blows upon the head ; for after a terrible bat- 
tle, a warrior left the trail and wandered into a settle- 
ment, not knowing where he was, and frightened 
women with his soulless stare, and noticed not his 
enemies, the men — who took him to their jail and 
searched for causes for his insanity and found a cavity 
upon his skull where a bullet had plowed its way. 
They kept him there for years, until he died. No 
monomaniacal Indian came to keep him company, 
and no hysteric squaw. He died alone, although 
his tribe filled the adjacent forest and numbered 
thousands. 


314 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


“The Indian knew not alcohol until we gave it to 
him and bade him drink. Neither had he known of 
the insanity that lurks within ; but now he wanders 
from his reservations, knocks at the doors of our 
Asylums, and has his delusions and his spells, the 
same as the man whose ancestors cursed his race 
with the drink that kills the mind. 

“ The Aztec architect designed no Asylums for the 
insane ; neither did the Aztec fill himself with alco- 
hol. Some of his tribes exist to-day, whose minds 
are peaceful and serene — his children and their grand- 
children ; • but they use no wine ; while others 
mingled their blood with the Spaniard, and drank 
with him, and now, behind the latticed doors, we see 
the ugly traces and hear the murderous tones of 
Mexico’s aguardiente. 

“We will now contemplate, separately, the Ger- 
man, the American, the French, and the Scandina- 
vians around us, and study their characteristic 
insanities and delusions, leaving out of sight the 
erratic movements of individuals, but charging our 
minds with the impressions of the class ; and then 
we will go into my office and discuss the reasons why 
they are unlike in action although similar in affliction.” 
# 

“ Judging from these, and from those whom you 
have seen in their spells of greater delusion, you 
decide that the German insanity develops quietness 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


315 


and melancholy ; the American, combativeness and 
noise ; the French, excitement and caprice ; and the 
Scandinavian, stupidity and cataleptic rest ;* and I 
will show to you where all of these demonstrations 
agree perfectly with the action of their national 
drinks upon an untainted individual of any nation. 

“The earlier Teutons had no monomaniacs and 
their wives were not hysteric nor melancholy. Their 
posterity brewed beer and drank it as a beverage. 
Let us follow its action. 

“ The proportion of alcohol was small, and vast 
quantities were needed to produce stimulation. It 
diluted the gastric juices ; weakened their powers ; 
clogged the digestive organs with unassimilated food, 
which irritated the nerves that centre in the stomach ; 
these reflected their disturbed action upon the brain 
and carried there the complaints of every organ that 
suffered for the nourishment of the undigested food. 
The brain brooded over their woes with the melan- 
choly helplessness of the dyspeptic ; its sorrows 
became chronic and were transmitted to its posterity 
as a part of their inheritance. Germans are here, and 
they act precisely as their ancestors did under the 
baneful influence of beer. 

“ Melancholy is a German characteristic, you say, 
and I deny this. Those who are uncontaminated by 
hereditary taint are cheerful, joyous, full of song and 


* See Chapter XII of the story. 


316 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


laughter; with mind and soul attuned to music and 
the dance. Melancholy dwells with beer and ale. 
You find its haunts in Britain, where it gathers 
around the pewter cups of ale. You find the Briton 
here, who helps to swell the sorrow of Melancholia. 

“The melancholy Dane drank beer; and Ophelia 
was a Danish daughter. 

(i The stomach and the brain are in active sympa- 
thy ; and the nerves become depressed from carrying 
messages of distress that are constant in their com- 
plaints ; Melancholia takes possession of the being 
as a property, and transmits sorrow to its inheritors, 
with all the titles that it has acquired. 

“The American is a genial soul, and peaceable; 
patient and slow to resent an injury ; calm and reflect- 
ive. This, when he stands with an untainted man- 
hood. His ancient ancestors had no insane, except 
from hurts, or frights, or scenes of sorrow ; nothing 
that comes from within. His fathers rotted grain, 
and distilled their decaying sugars, then rectified the 
product and drank it, under different names. We 
will call it Whisky, and determine its action. 

“ Its direct attack is upon the liver, which it in- 
flames; it prevents the proper action of the bile, that 
is diverted from natural uses and poured into the 
blood, which carries the acrid product, mingled with 
whisky, directly to the brain. The nerves resent the 
intrusion, savagely protest, and stimulate the motive 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


317 


forces to expulsion. The drinker fortifies the enemy 
and sends it new recruits ; then the enraged nerves 
retire the mental leaders and assume command. 
With impulsive movements they impel the forces to 
useless combats and unreasoning strife ; they clench 
the hands to strike, and attune the voice to rage. 
This is all repeated until the nervous warfare be- 
comes a state of being ; then the passions send the 
insanity of whisky to the brain and nerves of pos- 
terity. 

‘‘Some of them who come here and strike, and 
curse, and see the serpents and demons that he saw 
in his drunkenness, have never tasted his whisky, 
but they are the children of his sons and daughters ; 
his ways are theirs ; his impulses are their insanities ; 
and his deliriums are their delusions. 

“The Irish act precisely like them. Their drink 
is whisky. 

“The Frenchman’s wine goes quickly to the blood 
and seeks the brain. The willing nerves sip the 
enchanting stimulant and carry its excitement in 
flashes to every muscle in the body. Its strength is 
soon expended, and the enamored nerves plead for 
repetition. He drinks again and often. With his 
blood on fire, his brain confounded, and his elated 
nerves quivering with excitement, he gives to futurity 
the insanity of wine. 

“ His children walk along the corridors of the 


318 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Asylum with nervous menaces that mean no harm ; 
with excited speech that bears no malice ; with flash- 
ing eyes that never threaten, and imitate their fathers 
as they reveled. 

“Again you disagree with me and say, ‘ France is 
excitable.’ This has a seeming of truth, but the tribes 
from which they are descended were not thus. May 
not a thing that changes nerve action and transmits 
defective brains to posterity, spread its influence to 
everything pertaining to a people and make them as 
another race — an evolution from the vineyard ? 

“And Scandinavia? Beer and wine were as 
water, and whisky weak to the taste. Her sons 
took alcohol aijd unrectified spirits and drank to 
drunkenness. 

“The alcohol attacked the brain, as do all liquors 
in other countries, but a strange variance came with 
its effects. As the Norwegian multiplied his drinks, 
his tongue grew quiet ; another, and his eyes were 
fixed in his head ; and then the muscles of his face 
grew rigid. With stiffened arm he took the last 
deep draught ; and later, sat or lay as if a man of 
stone, or as if frozen by the winds of Iceland. 

“What touched his muscles? His heart beat 
strong and his pulse was full, but he was like a dead 
man. A something in the unrectified fire had put its 
arms around his sinews, as well as around his brain 
and nerves, and held them in rigidity. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


319 


“ They live in our country now, and do not drink 
the alcohol or the unrectified spirits of their fathers ; 
but when they come to the Asylum, their spells reflect 
the drunken scenes in distant Norway ; the quiet 
tongue, the staring eyes, the rigid muscles, and the 
cataleptic rest. 

“ Is this a national characteristic? 

“ The stamp of the drink of their ancestors is 
upon the insane of all people, as plain to be seen as 
the inscription upon the coin of their country ; and 
the insanity of the Asylum is the inherited insanity 
of the bar-room. 

“ What of the spells ? those higher strains along 
the dirges of delusion. 

“ The moon! What subtle fluid lies in the depths 
of its frozen chasms, throwing vapor into space 
to cloud the minds of men and intoxicate their 
thoughts ? The idea is folly and reflects insanity. 
The moon casts her feeble light around the room ; 
the unsteady brain sees forms, and ghostly garments, 
among the lights and shades ; and fear or vengeance 
takes possession of the man, who rends the air with 
screams or curses. A bonfire just without his win- 
dow would have the same effect. In total darkness 
he is quiet. 

“ If qualities are hereditary, their peculiarities and 
variations will be transmitted with them. 
t “The son of the Japanese acrobat steps from the 


320 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


cradle to the slack-rope and waves his fan to the 
measure of equilibrium. He climbs the swaying 
bamboo ; stands upon the top and fans himself in 
unconcern. His ancestral tribe were gymnasts ; 
from them he inherited his supple muscles and his 
steady nerves ; and with these, came their tendency 
to special action — the swinging of the rope and the 
swaying of the bamboo. The movements of his 
brain are regular and in accord with nerve-action. 
His fathers used neither alcohol nor opiates; and just 
as their brains acted, with all the shades of variation 
from those of other men, so does his. 

“ Let us enquire of our ancestors regarding their 
methods in the use of alcoholic drinks. 

“ They tell us that at the first it was used to em- 
phasize the triumph of their victories ; that after 
their feasts the women went from the table that the 
revelers might be free to drink the quantities that 
bring a fierce hilarity. Then they drank to uncon- 
sciousness, and found themselves, in the morning, 
scattered about the floor. Some were killed and 
others injured by the insane vigor of their rioting. 
They tell us that they did not use it daily ; that there 
were no saloons that mixed the morning dram or 
drew the evening draught ; but that they met 
together occasionally and drank until they were filled. 

“ Their sons inherited their tastes and soon began 
to drink daily ; but always, when they met together 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


321 


in boon companionship, would rival their fathers in 
their excesses ; then refrain awhile, and then indulge 
upon another meeting. The inebriate of our times 
follows in their footsteps. His desires impel him to 
excesses; then he controls himself and drinks in 
moderation ; and now the clamoring nerves demand 
their stimulant, the body and the mind consent, and 
soon he reels amid the mazes of delirium. 

“ And the moderate drinker — he, with the conceit 
of self-control mingling with the breath of indulgence 
and shining in his dulled eyes — finds that his desires 
swell and demand gratification ; that he has his spells 
of intemperance, and then the lull, when his mind 
believes itself safe from the dementia of alcohol. 

“ The whole history of the effect of drink upon 
the body, the nerves, and the brain, is one of ebbs 
and flows, as a tide upon the seashore ; and the quiet 
and the spells of the people who pace the corridors 
and sit in the groves of the Asylums, are only fea- 
tures of an hereditary whole. 

“This is my first conclusion: That the insane 
from violent causes can be found among every nation 
and tribe of the earth ; and even among the brute 
creation ; and that their demonstrations are identical. 

“ This is my second conclusion : That the insanity 
which develops from within, and is indicated by spells 
and delusions, can only be found among the people 
whose ancestry have used alcohol or opiates ; and 


322 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


that the mental and nervous action of their different 
forms places an hereditary stamp upon the individual 
sufferer. 

“ This suggests that insanity is a disease, which 
develops along the same lines of action that distin- 
guish all hereditary diseases — consumption, for 
instance — and applies itself in the same erratic man- 
ner ; perhaps by afflicting one of a family in this 
generation, while the others escape, and perhaps 
seizing upon several in the next. In this Asylum 
are a father and his son, two brothers, a brother and 
a sister, two sisters and their brother ; and cases are 
not rare in which every individual of a generation 
has been affected, while the evil is spreading with a 
rapidity that bears upon its flight the horrors of an 
earthly hell.” 

I went away with food for thought. 


Judge Heron’s Investigations. 

Continued. 

High walls, enclosing space where men are walk- 
ing, thinking, talking, weeping, shouting, praying 
and blaspheming. 

PON this fair earth 
there is a spot which 
holds within its boun- 
daries the sum of 
human miseries. No 
thoughts so dread 
that they find not 
here a lodgment in 
the brains of men ; 
no words so loath- 
some that they find not here a voice ; no curse so 
fearful that it finds not here a tongue to utter ; no 
prayer so agonizing that it finds not here a soul to 
repeat 

All the repulsive creations of hallucination are 
here thrown upon the sight; all the sounds of dis- 
cord are forced upon the ear. The Asylum for the 
Insane ! 

I had written Doctor Peters to know if there was 



324 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


other evidence tending to prove the truth of his con- 
clusions regarding the relation of alcohol to insanity, 
and he had answered by an invitation to spend a day 
with him in the Asylum for the purpose of further 
observation. In accordance with this invitation I 
reached the Asylum at an early hour, and while the 
Doctor was absent upon his morning round of 
inspection and attendance, I read from a slip of paper 
which he had placed in my hand, saying: “This is 
my further conclusion. We will examine the proofs 
upon my return.” 

The paper said : “The history of the action of 
alcohol upon the mind embraces a record of peculiar 
delusions and hallucinations. This action can be 
traced among those afflicted with inherited insanity 
by these peculiarities, bearing an identity with the 
action of a disease called delirium-tremens, which 
indicates the delusion of loathsome or creeping 
things, demons, skeletons, and other hideous forms ; 
horrible situations, fearful surroundings, or sorrowful 
emotions ; and this action is distinguished from that 
of all other insanities by these special and character- 
istic demonstrations. * I will choose their delusions 
and bring their fears upon them.’ ” 

Upon his return he put upon his memorandum 
several names, with dates and accompanying remarks, 
which he took from an indexed book that bore the 
evidence of much use, and afterwards passed out at 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


825 


the door, inviting me to follow. He led the way to 
a little cottage upon the grounds that had at one 
time served the purpose of a gardener’s home and 
afterwards those of a workshop, in which were articles 
needing repair, workmen’s benches, painters’ and tin- 
ners’ tools. 

A German workman, of intelligent air and pleasant 
face, was engaged at one of the benches constructing 
tinners’-ware of the kinds in use about the Asylum, 
and as we led him into conversation he talked as one 
well versed in matters of ordinary thought ; showed 
to us the articles which he had wrought, and referred 
with pride to their serviceable appearance. Soon I 
became the object of his fixed attention, and as he 
looked into my face I saw his eyes filling with tears. 

Ignoring the Doctor’s presence, and with the over- 
flowing tears streaming down his cheeks, he told the 
story of his delusions : 

“I am wasting away and soon must die. In all 
the food they give to me I find a poison and cannot 
eat ; white powders, green drugs and poison drops 
they put in meat and bread and soup. I cannot go 
from here. All around, in the woods and on the hills, 
they have stationed men to bring me back should I 
attempt to go away. The attendants meet together 
and conspire and talk of means to end my life. 
Everywhere I go I find the poisonous things pre- 
pared for me. The Doctor has it for me. My 


326 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


blood is filled with poison that he has given me. Now ; 
you have come. Your pockets are filled with some 
that is stronger and more deadly than the others. 
I know that you will kill me. I have only a few more 
hours to live. Have mercy and leave me until to- 
morrow.” He held his hands before his face as if in 
^prayer. I went out at the door to save him further 
agony, and Doctor Peters followed. Referring to 
his memorandum book, he said, “ His insanity came 
upon him when he was thirty-eight. He is now 
fifty-four and his case is hopeless. His father and 

his grandfather were brewers in , Germany, 

who drank freely of their product, and he has within 
his brain the melancholy inheritance of beer.” 

We went to one who stood by the wall of the 
western building, repeating his cry to passers-by, 
“Tickets to hell, one-fifty each.” 

Doctor Peters asked him by what authority he 
offered these, and he answered, “ The devil himself ; 
the oldest one of them all.” Then, turning to me, he 
said, “ There’s plenty of them, Mister, a million or 
more. Buy a ticket. I must sell one every day, or he 
will come and take me back. A dollar goes to 
him and fifty cents to me. Buy a ticket. You need 
not pay me now ; I will give you thirty days. You 
start next June.” 

I took a ticket from him, then he wrote my name 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


327 


upon a brown paper, folded in book form, which he 
carried under his arm. 

Doctor Peters asked him to relate to me the 
story of his engagement in this service. We sat 
upon a bench beside the building, and with earnest 
gestures he related his experience. These words are 
his : “ Mister, 'twas next day after election. He come 
to me and said, 1 1 want some wood,’ and I see 
by his looks that I’d have to go, ’cause he struck his 
fork in the floor and it sizzled ; yes, sir, sizzled, and I 
heard it ; and his tail swung around and threw off 
sparks ; yes, sir, threw off sparks, all over the room ; 
and I said I’d go, and I went He showed me a big 
hole in the ground, and he said, ‘ Put it in there ; ’ 
then he went away ; then I said, maybe I won’t. 
When I turned around there were three little ones. 
They didn’t say anything, but looked at me — their 
tails throwing fire — and I said, maybe I will. I 
went and got the oxen and the big wagon, and I drew 
eighty-three cords ; yes, sir, eighty-three cords of four- 
foot wood ; and the three little ones went to the woods 
with me, and when I was piling the wood on the 
wagon they sat on a log and they set it a-fire ; yes, 
sir, set it a-fire in three places. When I threw the 
wood into that hole it didn’t strike bottom, just kept 
going down, and I drew eighty-three cords. When 
I was standing on the top, throwing off the last load, 
the three little ones pushed the wagon, and the wood, 


328 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


and the oxen, and me, into the hole, and we kept 
going, and the little ones flying around us like 
birds ; yes, sir, like birds ; their tails throwing fire ; 
I thought if I’d jump up I wouldn’t strike hard, 
and I jumped and struck in the sand ; yes, sir, 
hot sand, up to my neck, and I couldn’t get 
out. Then a million came — like the three little 
ones — I couldn’t tell them apart ; and then the sparks 
flew like a snow-storm ; yes, sir, a hot snow-storm, 
with the wind blowing hard, and it burned my face, 
and they crawled into the sand all around me — a half 
a million of them — and stuck their forks into me, 
and they sizzled ; yes, sir, sizzled, and I could smell 
it. ’Twas getting hot, and I was getting thirsty. 
The big one came up out of the sand. I asked him 
if I could have some whisky, and he said, 4 You can/ 
He had a cup like a thimble, and I said, 4 That isn’t 
enough ’ ; and the cup began to grow and got as big 
as a pail ; yes, sir, as big as a pail, and bursted, and 
the whisky went into the sand ; yes, sir, into the 
sand, and I could smell it ; and he went away, and 
they all went away. 

“A big god came and asked me if I wanted to get 
out, and I said, ‘ I don’t like the climate ; I wish you 
would get me out ; ’ and he took me by the hair and 
pulled me out of the sand, and he said, ‘Come on;* 
yes, sir, he said, ‘Come on, where it’s cooler and he 
took me up by a long road, and he showed me where 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


329 


he lived, and said, 'You can see the trees, and the 
flowers, and the women, but you can’t stay, ’cause I 
want you to go back and sell tickets for heaven ; ’ and 
I said, ‘ I don’t want to go back ; I like the climate;’ 
but he said, ‘You must,’ and I said, ‘If I must, send 

me to , Missouri, eighty-three miles from St. 

Louis,’ and he said, ‘That’s all right,’ and he give 
me tickets and I went ; and I’d just got there when 
the big one and the three little ones came, and he 
said, ‘ I won’t have it that way. You go to Illinois 
and sell tickets for hell, one-fifty each, and one a day, 
or I’ll call for you;’ and he struck his fork in the 
ground, and it sizzled — yes, sir, sizzled — and I heard 
it, and his tail swung round and throwed fire — yes, 
sir, throwed fire — and burned the grass ; and I went, 
and he comes every month for his money.” 

Doctor Peters said, “He was committed to this 
Asylum soon after an attack of delirium-tremens, 
from which he passed into a monomaniacal state, 
which indicated in its demonstrations all the impres- 
sions made upon his senses by the delirium of drink. 
In a year he had apparently recovered and was dis- 
charged. Soon he was returned to us, again with the 
tickets for sale, he having visited a friendly saloon- 
keeper who gave him several drinks of whisky. The 
indications of his disease now comprehend both the 
direct and inherited effect of alcohol. These cases 
are hopeless.” 


330 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


We went from him to another, who had built a 
rude arbor of poles and cotton sacking across the 
angle of the fences which enclosed the Asylum 
grounds. This he occupied as a retreat during the 
pleasant days. He was not averse to the presence 
of visitors and was easily led to tell the story of his 
hallucinations, which he directed to Doctor Peters in 
these words : “ Doctor, you think I’m crazy, but if a 
man sees things and tells about ’em presizerly as he 
sees ’em he can’t be an idyot, can he ? and I can tell 
you all about it. I was born in Yorkshire, thirty 
miles from Sheffield, and I came to Massachusetts 
when I was seven years old, with my father and my 
mother. He worked in a factory and she worked in 
a factory. I went to school. My father made trouble 
with my mother when she drank so much gin that 
she couldn’t work, and he called her names and said 
her mother was an old gin-drinker, too. Doctor, it’s 
the best drink in the world ; and I run away and got 
to Wisconsin, among the lumber, and I staid there 
thirty years, then went down to Chicago, and they 
said I was crazy. Doctor, if a man sees things and 
tells about ’em presizerly as he sees ’em he can’t be 
an idyot, can he ? and first I knew I was in a ship 
sailing seventeen miles an hour, and it went by Lab- 
rador and Esquador, and Esquemo. It cut through 
icebergs and it shaved off the ends of islands ; it went 
through the Baffing sea, the Polar sea, the great 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


331 


Johanner sea, and struck into a great unknown petri- 
fied ocean. It was so cold that it froze ice back to 
water ; and a whale started for the ship. Doctor, 
when a man sees things and tells about ’em presizerly 
as he sees ’em, he can’t be an idyot, can he ? 

“ The whale was just six hundred and sixty miles 
long, and he was after me, .but he couldn’t swallow 
me, ’cause the sun was just by the meridian, on the 
pole, and threw my shadow fourteen thousand miles 
beyond the earth, and he couldn’t get that down. 
He raised the frills around his neck, Elizabethean 
frills like the old-fashioned women in pictures, and he 
fluttered the ruffles along his back, running to within 
a mile of his tail — ruffles like women’s skirts, six 
hundred and fifty miles long and ten feet high — and 
drove his head against the ship, and shook thirteen 
sailors off the yards, and they sunk to the bottom. I 
could see ’em gasping for breath, and then he went 
away. Doctor, if a man sees things and tells about 
’em presizerly as he sees ’em, he can’t be an idyot, can 
he ? He come back, and the dragon couldn’t swim, 
and lay along his back, among the ruffles, six hundred 
and fifty-nine miles long, and six feet through ; his 
head was fourteen feet wide and his mouth was just 
that long. I knew he was after me. He wound him- 
self round and round the ship and all about the sails, 
till I couldn’t throw a shadow ; then he laid his head 
on the deck in front of me and opened his mouth. 


332 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


Doctor, if a man sees things and tells about ’em pre- 
sizerly as he sees ’em, he can’t be an idyot, can he ? 
H is teeth were gangs of saws, and they laid in length- 
ways, and sideways and crossways, and everyways, 
and filled his mouth clear down his throat, and he 
started for me, and I ketched up a fifty gallon barrel 
of mess pork and threw it into his mouth, and he 
shut down on it. When he tasted it he got mad and 
squeezed the ship with his coils, and couldn’t smash 
it. He squeezed it so hard that he broke himself into 
a million pieces, and it was so cold that he turned 
to water and run all over the deck, and I had to swim ; 
and then the ship started for Chicago, seventeen 

thousand miles an hour. Doctor, you think I’m 

crazy, but if a man sees things and tells about ’em 

presizerly as he sees ’em, he can’t be an idyot, 

can he ? ” 

This ended his narative, and he could not be per- 
suaded to continue. 

Said the Doctor, after referring to his memoran- 
dum, “ He was forty years of age when committed 
here. His insanity has all the indications of heredity 
and his afflictions are but variations from the usual 
horrors which invariably accompany the insanity of 
drink. His mother and his grandmother gave him 
the curse of gin. He never suffered from an attack 
of delirium-tremens, but when his insanity developed 
its serpent broke upon his vision. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


333 


“We will now visit another of whose hallucina- 
tions you can only give a hint. Were you to write 
his story, the loathsome pages would not be read.” 

We entered the hospital ward and went to the 
room of a man who was seated on an invalids chair, 
and who, as he saw me, began his every-day appeal, 
“ Take me away where I can sleep in a house. 
Every night they take me to the cemetery and lay me 
among the dead ; the new dead ; the dead last year ; 
the old dead ; the skeletons ; and they rise up and 
come to me ” 

Doctor Peters referred to his memorandum and 
said, “ His history and that of his fether we know. 

His father was committed to the Asylum, 

Massachusetts, at the age of fifty-five, for insanity 
caused by the direct effects of rum. The son, who 
is before you, has a mania for rum and was drunk 
with it several times before the age of ten. From 
the age of eighteen to twenty-five he drank rum 
incessantly, but never had delirium-tremens. During 
the year in which he was twenty-five he began to run 
into the neighbors’ houses at night to escape from 
the dead men, and this action sent him here. They 
come to him every night, and will do so while he 
live^. There is no hope for his recovery.” 

The Doctor rapped at the door of another, who 
opened it and cordially invited us to enter and be 
seated upon his bed. In answer to a question. 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


334 

regarding his health, he answered, l< I’m all right 
to-day ; ” and when asked for his story, he freely and 
intelligently gave it. 

“ I am by birth a Dane, and came to America at 
the age of fourteen to avoid the military require- 
ments of my country. My sister lived in Chicago, 
and through her influence I obtained employment in 
a small grocery. In after years I was employed in a 

larger one on the corner of Division and 

streets. When I was twenty-five my sister made a 
visit to our old home to see our mother and bring 
her here, our father having died and left her alone, 
as we were the only children. Soon I received a 
letter from my mother telling me that my sister was 
insane. As my mother was possessed of property 
sufficient for their needs, she was to be cared for at 
home, as she was not violent, except at periods of 
short duration, when she saw horrible forms in her 
room. I held a good position and decided to remain 
in Chicago. I had no thought of insanity coming to 
me, as none had ever been known in the families of 
either my father or my mother, and I had supposed 
that the fatigue of the journey and the sudden joy of 
meeting with our mother had brought it upon my 
sister. When I was twenty-eight, about two weeks 
before my intended marriage, I came home late from 
a visit to my intended wife, and as I entered my 
room I saw through the darkness a dead girl, the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


335 


face that of one who was my schoolmate, standing 
by my bed, her hand upon my pillow. It was not 
hallucination, sir ; I saw the outlines of her form and 
the movements of the white garments that were 
wrapped around her as she stepped from the bed to 
a table in the centre of the room aijd laid her head 
upon it. Soon she raised it, and turning, walked out 
at the window. In a fascination of terror I went to 
the window and looked out to see if she would return, 
but saw no signs of her. I heard the rumbling of 
the Milwaukee night express, and suddenly, over the 
roofs of the neighboring buildings, I saw its head- 
light rushing directly towards me. I ran from the 
window, fearing to be crushed by the train, but as it 
came near, it turned as on a curve and stopped. 
There were only two men on board. They stepped 
from a car and sat beside a table that suddenly ap- 
peared upon the roof beneath my window, and took 
books from their pockets and began to write. They 
were dressed in black. One had the face of a dead 
man, and one the face of Satan as I had seen it 
pictured. They sat and wrote. An awful fear came 
over me and I ran into the hall shouting for help. 
When others came and lighted the gas, I looked 
again, out at the window, and through the dim 
moonlight I saw only bare roofs and chimney tops. 
They told me that I had been dreaming, and went 
away. I dared not sleep, but walked about the room 


336 


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until the time for work, then went to my place in the 
store. 

“ That evening I went early to bed, as my strength 
was almost exhausted. In the night I awoke. The 
dead girl lay by my side, asleep, her hand upon the 
pillow by my face. I sprang over her to the floor, 
and as I did so, a great light flashed through the 
window. Again the Milwaukee night express rum- 
bled over the roofs, the Satan and the dead man 
stepped from the train, sat by the tableland wrote in 
their books. Again I ran to the hall and called for 
help. The next day I was taken to the court ; the next, 
here. Sometimes, it may be for a month, I will not see 
them ; then I awake and find her lying by my side ; 
troops of headless women, like empty garments 
standing erect, glide by us ; the headlight comes 
over the walls ; yonder, the train curves by my 
window ; the Satan and the dead man in black 
step from it, sit by the table and write. 

“ My father was possessed of a comfortable prop- 
erty, and [my mother married him because of this, 
when she was eighteen and he was forty-two. I 
never saw my father sober. My mother told my 
sister that he reeled as he came into the bridal cham- 
ber, and was never free from the influence of drink 
during their married life.” 

‘‘And he is here ; his only sister in Denmark; and 
both insane from the inherited effects of alcohol,” 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


337 


was the Doctor’s remark as we went away from him. 

We went to another, who was seated upon a bench 
in the corridors of a ward, and as we approached, he 
turned his sullen face towards us and scowled. With 
a few flattering words, he was led to a cheerful con- 
versation. His mental condition was such that he 
could not give a history of his hallucinations, without 
the aid of leading questions to steady his thoughts. 
These the Doctor propounded, and this is the result : 

“I am, sur. I’m an Irishman till I was twinty- 
foor. I did, sur ; I went till Ameriky. Sure, lots 
av it. Potheen. The gallin in foor days ; onct in a 
fwhile two. They did, sur, all av thim. My grand- 
father made it in the shanty. Frim spuds, sure. 
Harrers, is it? minny av thim. Some av the time 
the nights. Down the sixth ward ; thin in the 
landin’ ; thin after me, in me room. Not iyery night. 
The wanst in a fwhile. Yes, sur, two wakes, or thra 
wakes. Shnakes ! divil a shnake. Min, sur. Min 
wid the cows’ harns, and the boomin’ toongs, an’ the 
huffs, an’ the fire in the wan eye. They do, sur. 
They tear up me shkin wid the lang harns, an’ the 
boomin’ toongs lappin’ me blud. Gitaff frim thim, is 
it? They do, sur, be howldin’ me down wid the 
huffs, ontil the bed, and the wan eye lookin’ in me 
face, and the harns a tearin’ me shkin, and the toongs 
a lappin’ an’ a boornin ’.” 

The memorandum said that he was committed to 
22 


338 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


the Asylum at the age of forty-two ; and that he was 
now fifty-six. 

We stood near a room closed by a solid door, and 
soon the man inside began to speak rapidly, and con- 
tinued for ten minutes, sometimes imploring, some- 
times expostulating, and then praying. What he 
said would fill a chapter. This is only a portion : 

“ What makes you come here with your buzzing, 
buzzing, this pleasant day, when the sun is shining 
and the birds are singing in the trees by the windows, 
and keep me from enjoying the little time I have to 
stay in life? IVe done nothing to you, that you 
should come to me every day with your buzzing, and 
buzzing, and stand in the middle of my room waiting 
to jump on me and carry me away when I am*not 
looking. I’ll not look out of the window and give 
you the chance that you are waiting for. Don’t 
come nearer to me ; this day the sun shines bright 
and the air is still and the birds sing. The day that 
I must go with you the clouds will be as black as 
you are, and the lightning as red as your eyes, and 
the thunder so loud that I cannot hear your buzzing, 
buzzing, when you come in, and then you can come 
upon me when I’m not looking, and take me with 
you. This is not the day. Go away! Go away! 
Don’t come so near me, and reach out your hands 
for me! I must not go when the sun is shining and 
the birds are singing. Let me stay. O, you that 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


339 


are the ruler of all the earth, and all things in the 
earth, and all places under the earth, and have your 
home in the dark places, where the black clouds roll 
out and no one can see the mighty hosts and the ter- 
rible armies that are waiting to hear your buzzing, 
and buzzing, and know that they can go out and con- 
quer the rest of the worlds and the stars. O, you 
that are more mighty than all the other things in all 
the universe, and have the millions and billions whom 
you have taken before, and have little use for a poor 
man, who prays to you that he may stay where the 
sun shines and the birds sing until that day when 
the clouds shall be as black as you are, and the 
lightning as red as your eyes ; I implore you to go 
away and not put your hands upon me this day, and 
I will praise you and worship you ” 

The Doctor suddenly opened the door. Before 
us sat a man leaning far back in his chair, with his 
hands clasped before him, and great drops of perspi- 
ration rolling down from his forehead and over his 
face. 

“Whom are you talking to?” said the Doctor. 

His hands dropped; he sought his kerchief, and 
wiped away the perspiration, saying, “It is he, sir.” 

“ Who is, he ? ” asked the Doctor. 

“ The demon, sir,” said the patient. 

Upon being requested to describe him and tell of 
his actions, he said, “ Didn’t you see him when you 


340 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


opened the door ? He stood right over me, his ten 
hands raised to take me away with him. When you 
came in he made a spring and went out through the 
ventilator,” pointing to the ventilating aperture near 
the ceiling, “and stopped buzzing. He comes to 
me almost every day up through the floor. I can 
hear him buzzing like a bumble-bee; that is his talk ; 
that is all he ever says. I know by the way he looks 
at me and uses his hands, that he wishes to take me 
away, but I talk to him and pray, then he goes away ; 
but some dark day, as dark as he is, he will take me. 
He is like a black horse with a demon’s head and 
eyes ; he has long black hair ; ten long arms with 
black hands ; he is all black except his eyes — they 
are red — and he grows blacker every year.” 

The memorandum said, “ Fourteen years.” 

The Doctor said, “ The frightful imagery of alco- 
hol. His father was a heavy drinker, and so was he.” 

He then opened the door of a room from which 
the iron bedstead and its mattress had been removed 
and a pile of blankets substituted in their place. As 
we entered, the man within excitedly removed his 
coat and began to beat the floor with it, and then, 
seemingly about to be overwhelmed by myriads of 
forms with which he was battling, began to stamp 
heavily with both feet, with all the movements of 
killing living things and grinding them under his 
feet. Suddenly, upon looking towards the window, 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. £41 

a great fear came upon his face, and he ran to the 
corner of the room, trembling and rapidly exclaiming, 
“Oo — Oo — Oo! Oo— Oo— Oo! Ah— Ah— Ah! Ah 
— Ah — Ah! Take it away! take it away! Take it 
away! Save me! save me! save me!” then plunged 
into the pile of blankets, wrapping them closely 
around himself. Hardly had he done so, when he 
broke into muffled shouts. “ Help — help — help ! 
He’s around me! he’s around me ! he’s around me!” 
and throwing the blankets from himself, he sprang 
to the middle of the room, making all the motions of 
one uncoiling a huge serpent from his neck and body, 
at the same time grinding with his heels and tramp- 
ling the smaller ones upon the floor. 

The movements of his agony and despair could 
only be compared to those of a sane man if thrown 
into a pit containing millions of rattlesnakes, and a 
monster anaconda coiling about him. 

The Doctor said, “These were his demonstrations 
when he came to us, two months ago, and their con- 
tinuance has been constant to this time, except at 
intervals of exhaustion caused by his struggles with 
the snakes. His previous history and that of his 
descent are well known to us. He inherited a mania 
for whisky, and strengthened it by excesses. The 
serpent forms came to his vision at the age of thirty- 
two with a persistency and vividness that gives to 


842 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


his insanity all the seeming of a chronic alcoholic 
delirium.” 

A shriek of terror came from behind the door, 
which the Doctor had closed when we stepped from 
the room, and as he opened it again we saw the man 
bending forwards as if with his hands around the 
neck of the anaconda, and striving to withdraw his 
head from the serpent’s mouth. 

As the Doctor opened the door of an adjoining 
room, we saw a man who sat upon his bed and kept 
his hands in constant motion, pushing away objects 
which seemed to be gathering around him, sometimes 
in front, then by his side or over his head ; at the 
same time talking in an undertone varied by an occa- 
sional pious exclamation. 

Doctor Peters said to me, “ This is the most awful 
case of mental suffering that ever came within my 
observation. Were he not engaged with his delu- 
sions and hallucinations, he would take a rational 
notice of everything transpiring around him, and if 
he can be induced to forget them for an instant, he 
will give intelligent answers to any question that you 
may propound. His agony is constant, as you may 
see by the expressions of his face and eyes, and he 
has the double affliction of Acute Melancholia, 
and the most horrible hallucinations of Mania. I 
have obtained his history from himself, a few words 
at a time, by patient questioning. He was born in 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


343 


Denmark and is now forty-two years of age. His 
occupation was that of a sailor upon the North Sea 
during his early life, later upon American waters, 
where he was first mate of a vessel between Balti- 
more and San Francisco. Before he engaged upon 
the American vessel, he tells me, he drank beer freely, 
and alcohol occasionally, as did his father and his 
other relatives, who were all seamen. On the 
American vessel he drank whisky only; this, to the 
extent of spending his surplus earnings for it and its 
consequent debaucheries. He is of a kindly nature, 
and although of a powerful physique, as you see, and 
constantly beset by his troubles, has never offered 
harm to anyone. In addition to the hallucinations of 
sight, which include fiends and poisons, he has a 
mental delusion that when he becomes a perfect 
Christian he may convert the fiends who come about 
him, and they will then cease their efforts to drug or 
poison him. He has been with us three years and 
four months, and has not been free from his terrible 
mental suffering an hour of that time, except in sleep. 
When he awakes the fiends are with him ; they poison 
him and go away ; in a moment he sees them in the 
distance, coming to him again ; they close around 
him, and in intermitting trooping, go and come until 
he again falls asleep. Sit beside him, upon the other 
side of his bed, and you will hear a portion of his 
story.” 


344 


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From his mutterings and imploring exclamations, 
I gathered the sense of the following : 

“ O, God! within my sight and thronging space 
beyond, there come towards me hideous fiends, with 
demon shouts, their hair outstreaming on the air 
behind in waves of molten steel. They come ! My 
God ! Upon their breasts, encircled by reptile folds, 
the skulls of men ; dry crumbling horrors, dug from 
desert sands and dropping o’er the ground white 
flakes as slaking lime ; a breast-plate dread, fore- 
shadowing death. God help! In either hand an 
open jar that wastes on air the fume of drugs and 
odors of disease. Upon their lips a flecking foam ; 
among their teeth the grinding spasms of hydropho- 
bia. The eyes ! God forgive! I die! Behind the 
glowing orbs that stand upon the cheek, their sockets 
fill with forms of hate and murderous mien that 
glower upon me from the burning rims. They close 
around me! Push them away! O, God ! Upon 
my head one tears with gnashing teeth. My blood 
with poison fills, my brain with sicknesses, and chloro- 
form. O, God ! make me a Christian. I must not 
die ! They are gone ! I rest. My prayer was 
heard. O, God ! It makes no difference ! Within my 
sight and thronging space beyond, there come to- 
wards me hideous fiends, with demon shouts ” 

I went away from him. 

The Doctor said, “The intermissions between the 


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345 


departure and the return of the fiends are never of 
more than five minutes duration. He sometimes 
varies his speech with longer prayers.” 

Doctor Peters then suggested that we visit the 
female department of the Asylum. As we walked 
towards it he gave me the history of a case of delirium- 
tremens which he had witnessed, the subject being a 
woman of education and former good social position. 
The pen that writes these lines can find no words 
within its fountain to describe the horrors of this 
scene ; but a history of her hallucinations afterwards, 
during her insanity, may be given as she related it, 
with a reservation of the more repulsive portions : 
“ He brings me a hundred every morning when I 
am dressed for the day. He turns them loose upon 
me and they crawl into my bosom, up my sleeves, in 
my pockets and among my skirts. It takes me until 
night to get them off. When I catch one I throw it 
from me, then it goes away. Here is one, now, 
crawling from my sleeve ; it is a little one ; and here 
a large one from my bosom.” 

She made the movements of taking a tiny snake 
between her thumb and forefinger and throwing it 
with force against the wall of her room; then with 
the other hand she grasped the larger one about the 
neck and slowly drew its folds from her bodice to 
the length of her arm ; then turning, threw it through 
the open door into the corridor. She soon became 


346 


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quiet and engaged with us in a cheerful conversation. 
In a few moments a tiny snake crawled over her 
wrist ; the thumb and finger threw it against the wall ; 
then the other hand grasped a monster that came 
from the folds of her dress. Heart-sick, I turned 
away and left the room. He who brought them to 
her in the morning cannot be described. 

In an adjoining ward we found a lady seated upon 
an easy chair, within an alcove of the corridor, sew- 
ing and humming the air of an evangelist’s song. 
She greeted the Doctor pleasantly as we came to 
her side, and in response to his request related the 
action of sights and sounds that came during her 
occasional spells: “You may think that it’s a notion, 
but it isn’t. He came to me first when I was sitting 
in the parlor. I saw him come up the steps in front 
of the house I heard him open the door and walk 
through the hallway into the parlor. He passed so 
near to me that he touched my dress, then sat on 
the lounge in the corner of the room. He was the 
handsomest man I ever saw. He sat a moment and 
then he said, ‘ I want you to go away from here.’ 
You may think that it’s a notion, but it isn’t. I 
heard him say it, and then his face began to glow, 
and it got like fire. His black clothes turned to red 
and his hair to flame, and then he said, 4 Go to the 
inebriates’ home.’ I did drink the whisky. I could 
not keep from it. If I thought of it, I would go 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


347 


miles through rain or snow to get it. I loved it 
when I was a child. My mother said that my grand- 
father marked me with a whisky taste. You may 
think that it’s a notion, but it isn’t. I could drink 
pure whisky when I was a baby, and I would let you 
kill me to-night if you would give me all that I could 
drink to-day. I did as he told me and went to the 
inebriates’ home. In a week the handsome man 
came and sat in my room, his elbows upon the table, 
and he looked at me. Soon his face began to glow, 
his clothes turned red, and the flame shot up from 
his head. He said to me, * I want you to go away 
from here.’ You may think that it’s a notion, but it 
isn’t. I heard him say it, and the next morning he 
sent some men to bring me here, among the crazy 

people, and Miss and Mrs. keep me here, 

because he has told them that if I get away he will 
come to them. I had been here about a week when 
the handsome man came down the corridor of this 
ward and sat beside me, upon my bed, in the night. 
His face began to glow, his clothes turned red, and 
the flames from his hair made the room lighter than 
day ; and he said to me, 1 1 want you to stay here.’ 
You may think that it’s a notion, but it isn’t. I heard 
him say it, and he sat there nearly all night looking 
at me. I know that I must stay here always, though 
there is nothing the matter with me, because he says 
I must. He watches me and often comes to see 


348 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


that I am here. He never speaks to me now, but 
comes to the end of the corridor, yonder, where you 
see the lattices, and looks down the ward to see if I 
am here. When he sees me his face glows and gets 
like fire, his black clothes turn to red, and his hair 
stands up in a flame. You may think that it’s a 
notion, but it isn’t. I see him.” 

As we went away from her, the Doctor said, “ I 
need not give her history. Her own story compre- 
hends it.” 

Referring to his memorandum, he said, “ Let us 
visit others.” I assured him that this was enough ; 
that not for the wealth of the city would I carry in 
my memory other stories of woe traced from a 
poison put into the mouths of men which forced upon 
women the inheritance of sorrow and loathsome 
delusions. As we walked towards his office he said, 
“ These are but examples of a uniform whole. 
Wherever you find delusions or hallucinations of 
devils, dragons, creeping things, horrible animals, 
fearful surroundings, sorrowful situations, and others 
of the nature of these, you will find a history of 
drink, either in the subject or his ancestors within 
the sixth generation, and from one-half to three- 
fourths of the inmates of Asylums have this class of 
affliction.” 

“ ‘ I never drank,’ says a monomaniac who has the 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


349 


periodical hallucinations of creeping things. * N either 
did my father.* 

<f Possibly not ; but what of his father and his 
grandfather? You will dis.cover the alcoholic source 
of his affliction somewhere, just so surely as that you 
may find the negro who tinged the finger-tips of the 
octoroon’s child with the dusky blood of Africa. 

“ The delusions caused by the action of the lighter 
alcoholic preparations incline towards sorrows, perse- 
cutions, vivid and gross imaginings, and suicide. 

“ Those who are afflicted with the insanities devel- 
oped from other causes have other and distinctive 
delusions, among which are those of extraordinary 
accomplishments, high social position, the conceit of 
profound knowledge, of philosophy, business or reli- 
gion, night visits by former companions, angels, 
children or fairies, and others of similar character.” 

We had arrived at the Doctor’s office, where he 
bade me good-bye, intimating that his duties were 
the cause of this abrupt termination of our conver- 
sation. As I passed by the Supervisor’s office, I saw 
a man seated near him upon a bench, who was 
almost covered with straps and ropes, and who had 
just been brought in from a carriage by two deputy 
sheriffs. The man was shouting vengeful words to 
forms that seemed to be gathering around him. 
The Asylum attendants took him up and carried 
him to the receiving ward. I asked the Supervisor 




350 


THE JUNIOR PARTNERS. 


the place of his commitment, and he said, “ The 
City.” I then asked him the cause. He looked at 
me as to one propounding needless questions, and 
curtly answered, “ Whisky.” 

I went away. As I passed out of the grounds I 
stood by the gate and looked back towards the 
Asylum. Along the driveway I traced the windings 
of a Serpent, that had come from the City, crawled 
by the long row of elms, and entered at the arched 
opening beneath the statue of Mercy. 




HE story of the Saloon breaks upon the 
troubled air. 

The father tells it, his face quivering 
with grief; the wife tells it, with choking 
sobs and streaming tears ; the son tells it 
in the county jail ; repeats it behind the prison walls ; 
shouts it along the corridors of the Asylum; the 
daughter tells it in the tenement of want ; whispers 
it in the wards of the alms-house ; sings it in the 
den of shame, to the music of the wine-glass. 

The mother tells it upon her bended knees. 

They are telling it to you. 















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Alcoholic Inheritance. 


Compilations from the Writings of Physiologists, Physicians, and 
Experts in the Treatment of Insanity. 


“ Hear me to the end, and then decide against 
me if you will.” 


all the study leading to strengthening of 
argument and confirmation of conclusions, 
as found in those chapters of “The Junior 
Partners ” relating to the direct and her- 
editary action of alcohol upon the mental 
properties, no words of greater force can 
be found than are embodied in the works 
of Huxley and Youmans, Bucknill and Tuke, Dr. 
Maudsley, Dr. Ray, Dr. S. G. Howe, and Esquirol ; 
all recognized authorities of the very highest rank; 
from which is selected the following compilation. 



“ The mind has its states of health and vigor, of 
debility and v disease, like the body, and these states 
are influenced by definite causes in the former case 
as well as in the latter. Mental philosophy, as com- 
monly understood, explains^ to us the operation of 


354 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


thought and feeling as we discovered them in the 
working of our own minds, and takes little account 
of the part played by the corporeal system in the 
control of these processes. But, if we would under- 
stand the conditions of mental health, and the nature 
and causes of mental impairment, the body must at 
once be taken into account. The study of mental 
phenomena in their corporeal relations thus becomes 
the business of the physiologist. He sees that the 
mind is not only dependent upon the body, but that 
the two have close and powerful reactions ; states of 
body determining conditions of mind, and states of 
mind influencing conditions of body. Nature pre- 
sents the problem, not of mind separate, but of mind 
and body bound up in a living unity, and the physi- 
ologist must take the question as he finds it. 

“ It is now universally admitted that the brain is 
the grand nervous centre of thought and feeling, the 
material instrument of the mind, and that all mental 
actions are accompanied and conditioned by physio- 
logical actions. From the high complexity of com- 
position of nervous matter, it is extremely unstable 
and prone to change. The brain is therefore not 
only — like all other parts of the body — subject to the 
double metamorphosis of waste and repair, but the 
transformations take place in this organ with more 
rapidity than in any other part of the system. Upon 
these changes the mental operations are vitally depend- 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


355 


ent, and if in any way interfered with, there is a dis- 
turbance of the intellectual processes. If the cerebral 
circulation is lowered, mental activity is diminished ; 
if accelerated, the mind’s action is exalted. Various 
substances introduced into the blood-stream alter the 
course of thought, some affecting it oneway and some 
another ; but each, through its specific action, produc- 
ing characteristic physiological effects. Inflammation 
of the brain induces delirium, while different diseases 
of the organ, or perversions of the blood circulating 
through it, give rise to various forms of insanity. 

“ It is important to note, not only that mind and 
body are both governed by laws, but that they are to 
a great extent governed by the same laws. What- 
ever improves the physical qualities of the brain, 
improves also the mind ; whatever deteriorates the 
brain impairs the mind. They have a common 
development, are equally increased in vigor, capacity, 
and power, by systematic and judicious exercise, and 
are alike injured by deficient or excessive effort. 
The brain is exhausted by thinking, as much as the 
muscles by acting, and, like the exhausted muscles, 
it requires time for the restoration of vigor through 
nutritive repair. As thus the mind is dependent 
upon the conditions of the brain, while the brain is 
controlled by the bodily system, we see how impos- 
sible it is to deal with the mental powers in a practi- 


356 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


cal way, without taking the material organization 
into account. 

u Those who habitually think of the mind as a 
separate entity, merely existing in some vague way 
with the body, will naturally look upon mental derange- 
ments as disorders of this entity; diseases of an ab- 
straction. But this view has proved misleading and 
injurious in the extreme. So long as maladies of the 
mind were regarded as demoniac possessions, or as 
‘ fermentations taking place in a spiritual essence,’ all 
rational causality was excluded, and the arts of relief 
and prevention were impossible. When, however, 
it became established that mind depends upon definite 
physiological conditions, there was no escape from the 
conclusion that physiological perversions are causes of 
mental derangement. Fair weather and foul equally 
depend upon the laws of meteorology ; health and 
disease equally depend upon the laws of animal life. 
As mental health is dependent upon due nutrition, 
stimulation, and repose of the brain, mental disease 
is to be regarded as resulting from the interruption 
or disturbance of those conditions. 

“In showing that mental weakness is a concom- 
itant of bodily debility, and mental aberration a con- 
sequence of bodily disorder, the physiologist lays 
the sure foundation of a practical Mental Hygiene, 
the province of which is to consider the various 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE, 


357 


causes which disturb the harmony and impair the 
vigor of mental actions. 

“Taking note of the multiplied forms and degrees 
of disturbance and degeneracy to which the mental 
nature of man is subject, it traces them to their 
causes, and discloses the extent to which they are 
avoidable. As bodily and mental health depend to 
a great degree upon the same conditions, all that can 
be said concerning the sanitary influences which affect 
the corporeal system has likewise its bearing upon 
health of mind. But the mental aspects of the case 
are so generally overlooked as to demand a special 
consideration. 

“As the organ of the mind is the most delicate 
and complex of all parts of the living system, while 
its manifestations are so varied as to comprehend 
the whole circle of human thought and feeling, it is 
natural to suppose that the causes of mental impair- 
ment will be complex and varied in an equal degree. 
These causes are usually regarded as two-fold — moral 
and physical. Another division is into predisposing 
and exciting causes. 

“The predisposing causes are such as act remotely, 
or by slow degrees, to undermine the mental health ; 
while exciting causes are those untoward events which 
immediately precede the breaking down of the mind. 
It is a common error to assign some shock or calamity 
as the efficient and adequate cause of an insane out- 


358 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


break, whereas the real causality lies further back, 
and the occurrence in question is only the occasion 
of its development. The germ of insanity may have 
been deeply latent in the constitution, and a long 
train of influences may have been at work to impair 
the cerebral vigor, while some event, perhaps of slight 
importance in itself, serves to bring on the final 
catastrophe. When it is said that a person has 
become insane through disappointment or religious 
excitement, we are not to suppose that this is the 
whole statement; the question arises: How is it that 
others in quite similar circumstances are unaffected ? 
The human mind is not so constituted as to snap by 
a sudden strain, like cast iron ; insanity produced by 
the action of a single cause is of the rarest occur- 
rence. Only by a ‘conspiracy of conditions/ internal 
and external, proximate and remote, is the fabric of 
the reason usually overthrown. 

“We will first notice the immediate physiological 
actions by which health of mind is destroyed, and 
this will prepare us to understand how the remoter 
causes of mental impairment take effect. 

“If the mind is dependent upon the brain, it 
follows that each act of the mind has its physical 
conditions, and the conditioning must of course be 
in accordance with the structure of the organ. The 
mental mechanism consists essentially of millions of 
cells and fibers, the former of which are the gene- 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


359 


rators and the latter the transmitters of force. In 
thinking and feeling, these are called into exercise, 
and, according to its intensity, exhausted; while their 
function power is restored by nutritive assimilation. 
The structure of the parts being perfect, mental 
coherency, energy, and health, depend upon their 
perfect nutrition. It is here, in the disturbance of 
the nutritive operations of the brain, that most of 
the causes of mental impairment take effect. 

“We attribute a large share of mental diseases to 
pathological conditions of the brain, whose most 
prominent characteristic is defective nutrition of the 
organ. In a large proportion of cases this deficient 
nutrition is manifested after death in an actual 
shrinking of the brain, a shrinking which is co-exten- 
sive with the duration and the degree of the loss of 
mental power. This loss of power marks all instan- 
ces of cerebral decay, and is consequently a condition 
of most chronic cases of excitement. 

“ The effect of impaired nutrition is, to produce 
derangements of structure, and these take many 
forms in the various cases of cerebral disease. The 
microscope has done much to elucidate the patholog- 
ical changes of the brain, but such is the marvelous 
delicacy of the organ that microscopists are still 
intensely occupied in making out the subtle details of 
its normal structure. Many physical indications of 
nervous disorder no doubt remain to be discovered ; 


' 360 ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 

but, from the peculiar complexity and difficulty of 
the case, a large amount of infirmity of nerve- 
element will probably never be detected by physical 
means. Nutrition results from a relation between 
the nerve-tissue and the blood ; the causes of its per- 
versions are therefore to be sought in various dis- 
turbances of the circulation, as well as in the nerve- 
element itself. 

“ Nutrition is dependent upon the supply of blood ; 
in the brain, perhaps, more closely than in any other 
organ. The gray substance of the cerebral convo- 
lutions, which are devoted to the higher mental 
operations, is richly supplied with minute blood- 
vessels which impart to the cells the material of their 
renewal, and remove the waste products of their 
activity. The quantity and quality of the blood they 
transmit must, therefore, exert a determining influ- 
ence over the functions and health of the organ. 
As mental action depends upon the interchange 
taking place between the blood-capillaries and the 
nerve-cells, it follows that increased excitation and 
interaction of ideas is accompanied by increasing 
interchange and demand for more blood, the plethora 
of the capillaries gives rise to increased and mental 
excitement. If this heightened activity is prolonged 
beyond due limits, and especially if the brain is 
weakly organized, a state of morbid congestion is 
induced, and over-stimulation is followed by stagna- 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


361 


tion of ideas, emotional depression, and irritability. 
The stagnation of the cerebral currents and imper- 
fect removal of noxious products, with the irregular- 
ities of excitement and depression which are the 
result of frequent brain congestion, produce defective 
nutrition, which tends to impair the soundness of the 
organ. 

“ Anaemia, or bloodlessness, the opposite state of 
congestion, produces similar mental effects. Insuffi- 
ciency of healthy blood, whether caused by its actual 
loss from the system, or by poverty and dilution of 
the fluid through any of the numerous anti-hygienic 
influences, by impairing the nutritive powers, enfee- 
bles the organ and powerfully predisposes to insanity. 

“The blood itself may not reach its proper growth 
and development by reason of some defect in the 
function of the glands that minister to its formation ; 
or, carrying the cause still further back, by reason of 
wretched conditions of life; there is, in consequence, 
a defective nutrition generally, as in scrofulous per- 
sons ; and the nervous system shares in the general 
delicacy of constitution; so that, though quickly 
impressible and lively in reaction, it is irritable, 
feeble, and easily exhausted. Poverty of blood, it 
can admit of no doubt, plays the same weighty part 
in the production of insanity as it does in the pro- 
duction of other nervous diseases, such as hysteria, 
chorea, neuralgia, and even epilepsy. 


362 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


“Although the blood is a compound of wondrous 
complexity, and undergoing incessant changes by 
active influx and drainage, yet in health its constitu- 
tion is preserved in such exquisite balance that the 
cerebral engine of thought and emotion is kept in 
harmonious action. This harmony is disturbed, not 
only by excess or deficiency of the vital stream, but 
in a marked degree by the presence in it of various 
impurities. Every grade of mental disease, from the 
mildest depression to the fury of delirium, may be 
produced by the accumulation in the blood of the 
waste matter of the tissues. The presence in the 
blood, for example, of unexcreted bile, so affects the 
nervous substance as to engender the gloomiest feel- 
ings, from which the individual cannot free himself, 
although he knows that the cause of his depression 
is not in the actual condition of external circum- 
stances, but is internal and of a transient nature. 
But it only requires the prolonged action of this 
cause to carry this morbid state of nerve-element to 
that further stage of degeneration which shall result 
in the genuine melancholia of insanity. 

“Various substances introduced into the blood, as 
opium, hashish, belladonna, take effect upon the brain, 
each perverting the mental functions in a manner 
peculiar to itself. Ingested 45 * alcohol produces an 
artificial insanity, in which the various types of men- 


* Put into the stomach. 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


363 


tal diseases are distinctly manifested. Its first effect 
is a gentle stimulation and a mental excitement, such 
as often precedes an outbreak of mania. This is 
followed by a rapid flow of ideas, an incoherence of 
thought and speech, and an excitement of the pas- 
sions, which disclose automatic disturbance and 
diminished voluntary control, as in delirium from 
other causes. A condition of depression and maudlin 
melancholy succeeds, as convulsion passes into paral- 
ysis — the last scene of all being one of dementia 
and stupor. 

“ But independent of the quantity or quality of the 
blood supplied to the brain, that organ is liable to 
certain conditions of exhaustion and nutritive degen- 
eracy to an extent far greater than the other organs 
of the body. These other organs have various 
means of escape from overtasking ; if they cannot 
increase their power so as to endure the burden 
imposed, they can refuse to act, or throw the excess 
of labor upon some other part. Overworking the 
stomach destroys appetite, and the task is no longer 
imposed. If the muscular system is worked beyond 
its power, it does not break down, but the excessive 
strain is thrown upon the nervous system, which 
receives the injury. The overtasked lungs throw 
part of their burden upon the skin and liver, and the 
overworked liver is relieved by the kidneys. But 
the economy of the organism affords the brain no 


364 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


vicarious relief ; if overburdened it must suffer alone. 
Excessive exertion of the brain produces an excite- 
ment which, instead of ceasing, is augmented by the 
very debility which it causes. The exhaustion con- 
tinues the overwork, which again increases the 
exhaustion. The degeneration of nerve-element thus 
proceeds at a rapid rate of increase, which results in 
permanent perversion and degradation of the mental 
functions. 

“To the physiologist the question of healthy men- 
tal activity resolves itself into that of the soundness 
of nerve-element, and of vigorousness and complete- 
ness of nutrition ; while mental impairment is seen to 
result from instability of the nerve-structures, conse- 
quent upon defective nutrition. In this view, there- 
fore, all causes, physical or moral, intermediate or 
remote, which influence the nutritive operations of 
the system, have a bearing, more or less direct, upon 
mental conditions and character. 

“ We will now pass to some of the remoter influ- 
ences by which mental health is impaired. 

“The living constitution is powerfully influenced 
by many slow-working agencies. The causes of 
mental deterioration produce effects in time, and 
through successive generations. Hereditary trans- 
mission thus becomes a leading factor in the problem 
of mental impairment, and accounts for many of the 
agencies by which it is produced. 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


365 


“ Bodily defects and diseases are transmissible. 
Consumption, gout, asthma, cancer, scrofula, apo- 
plexy, unsoundness of teeth, and even long sight, 
short sight, and squinting, are liable to be inherited. 
Of course these diseases are not transmitted in all 
cases of their occurrence, nor do they always pass 
directly from parent to offspring ; one or two genera- 
tions may be skipped, and the malady appear in the 
distant descendants. Hence, strictly speaking, it is 
not the disease that is hereditary, but a predisposition 
to it, which may be either neutralized and disap- 
pear, remain dormant, or break out, according to 
circumstances. 

‘‘There is, perhaps, no form of constitutional 
defect more markedly hereditary than morbidities of 
the nervous system. Esquirol observes that, of all 
diseases, insanity is the most hereditary. The pro- 
portion of cases in which this malady is ascribed to 
predisposition has been variously estimated at from 
one-fourth to nine-tenths ; probably at least one-half 
of all these cases of diseases have this origin. 

“ The common notion, that insanity is inherited 
only when madness in a parent re-appears as mad- 
ness in the child, is a most serious error. That 
which is transmitted is nervous infirmity, which may 
assume an endless variety of forms. Parental nerv- 
ous defects may issue in one member of the family, 
in unbalanced character, which is manifested in vio- 


366 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


lent outbreaks of passion and unaccountable impulses, 
while another may go smoothly through life without 
exhibiting a trace of it, and a third will break down 
into mania upon some trying occasion. As features 
are modified by descent, so are diseases, and none 
assume so wide a diversity of aspect as those of the 
nervous system. 

“If, instead of limiting attention to the individual, 
we scan the organic evolution and decay of a family — 
processes which, as in the organism, are sometimes 
going on simultaneously — then it is made sufficiently 
evident how close are the fundamental relations of 
nervous diseases ; how artificial the divisions between 
them may sometimes appear. Epilepsy in the parent 
may become insanity in the offspring, or insanity in 
the parent, epilepsy in the child ; and chorea or con- 
vulsions in the child may be the consequence of great 
nervous irritability — natural or accidental — in the 
mother. In families in which there is a strong dis- 
position to insanity, it is not uncommon to find one 
member afflicted with one form of nervous disease, 
and another, with another ; one suffers, perhaps, from 
epilepsy, another with neuralgia, a third may commit 
suicide, and a fourth become maniacal. General par- 
alysis is a disease which is usually the result of 
continual excesses of one sort or another ; but it 
may unquestionably occur without any marked 
excesses, and when it does, there will mostly be 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


367 


discoverable an hereditary taint in the individual. 

“ How the running down of stock through the 
loss of vital power, by hereditary influences, should 
swell the ranks of the dependent classes, or those 
incapable of self-support, is obvious ; but this cause 
is equally powerful in re-enforcing the dangerous 
classes who fill our jails and prisons. Immoral 
training and vicious' associations are undoubtedly 
among the potent agencies by which these are edu- 
cated for a career of vice and crime, but a co-oper- 
ating cause of far greater power is low organization 
or defective cerebral endowment. They begin life 
with a nervous system incapable of the higher con- 
trolling functions. The children of paupers gener- 
ally inherit a lack of bodily and mental vigor, while 
the offspring of criminals have transmitted to them 
a disturbed balance of constitution — an activity of 
certain propensities, with a congenital weakness of 
the restraining sentiments. 

“ There is a common opinion that in classes and 
individuals of low organization the purely animal 
appetites are apt to be fierce and ungovernable, but 
it is not so ; on the contrary, as a general rule, the 
whole nature is let down and enfeebled ; and persons 
in this condition are docile and easily governed. 
Sometimes, indeed, there is fearful activity of the 
animal nature in persons of low organization, which 
impels them to commit shocking outrages ; but these 


3C8 


ALCOHOLIC INHERITANCE. 


are exceptional cases, and the passions are usually 
the consequences of drink and insanity, rather than 
intensity of nature. As a rule, in the classes marked 
by low and degenerate organization, the animal 
instincts and impulses are not stronger than in the 
others. On the contrary, the classes of higher bod- 
ily organization and vigor have more fire and 
potency, even of animal appetites, and their superi- 
ority comes, not from lack of impulse, but from 
greater activity and power of the restraining facul- 
ties of reflection and of conscience. 

“ In the light of these facts, the causes of mental 
impairments acquire a new and startling significance. 
The various agencies which are adverse to health 
not only shorten the duration of life, but they 
degrade its quality, while deteriorated life involves 
debilitated intellect and perverted moral powers. 
The general causes of impaired health, the whole 
array of bad physical conditions, by undermining 
the bodily vigor and lowering the nutritive opera- 
tions, become powerful and extensive causes of men- 
tal impairment, and stand in close relation to the 
evils and vices of society. Their baneful influence, 
however, is not measured by their immediate effects 
upon the individual ; their power is multiplied by 
transmission, for they inflict upon his posterity the 
curse of a bad descent. Evil habits and bad condi- 
tions of life may not in the first case reach the extent 


ALCOHOLIC INHEKITANCE. 


369 


of mental derangement, but they so impair the vital 
stamina that their victim bequeathes to his children 
enfeebled and degenerated nervous organizations, 
which are incapable of withstanding the strains and 
shocks of social experience. The lowered vitality 
and perverted nutrition of the parent becomes feeble- 
mindedness in the offspring. 

“ Hence, for the moral and intellectual elevation 
of the race, we are to look not exclusively to educa- 
tion, but to whatever tends to improve the bodily 
constitution, and especially the qualities of the brain. 
In our schemes of philanthropy we are apt to deal 
with men as if they could be moulded to any desir- 
able purpose, provided only the right instrumentali- 
ties are used, ignoring altogether the fact that there 
is a physical organ in the case, whose original 
endowments must limit very strictly the range of our 
moral appliances. But, while we are bringing to 
bear upon them all the kindly influences of learning 
and religion, let us not overlook those physical 
agencies which determine the efficacy of the brain 
as the material instrument of the mind.” 


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Inebriety a Disease. 

Inebriety is a disease ; not a vice. 

» HE physician who is engaged in general 
k practice has scant opportunity to study 
cases of insanity or alcoholism, for the 
reason, that upon the active development 
of the one the patient is removed to the 
Insane Asylum, and the sufferer from the 
other seldom acknowledges his affliction, 
and repels all endeavors tending to an amelioration 
of his condition until he becomes maudlin, or a so- 
called criminal, when he is placed by law in confine- 
ment, sent by his friends to inebriate retreats, or dies 
unexpectedly from the attack of some acute disease 
or chronic disorder which has been unobserved in the 
general degradation of his condition. 

To those who study and practice upon special 
phases of mental disorder, should we apply for better 
information. For this enlightenment the following 
selected compilation from contributions to the “Alien- 
ist and Neurologist” (a quarterly journal of scien- 
tific, clinical, and forensic psychiatry and neurology ; 
published in St. Louis, Mo.) by T. D. Crothers, 


372 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


M. D., Superintendent of Walnut Lodge, Hartford, 
Conn.; T. L. Wright, M. D., Bellefontaine, Ohio; 
J. L. Hallam, M. D., Centralia, Ills.: is presented. 

“When the different phases of delirium noted in 
inebriety are studied as particular stages of the dis- 
ease, one is amazed at the new realm of pathological 
and psychological facts which appear. Why certain 
forms of delirium should be regarded as a special 
disease, called delirium-tremens, and exempt the per- 
son from responsibility in law, is a mystery. Why 
this particular stage has been so carefully studied, 
and all the early stages of the case have been dis- 
missed with the remark, that this or that form of 
alcohol has been used to excess, is equally strange. 
No special study of the delirium of typhoid or other 
fevers would indicate the nature and character of the 
real disease. Hence, all study of delirium-tremens, 
or other forms of delirium coming from the use of 
alcohol, are worthless and misleading, unless they are 
combined as chapters in the history of the case. 

“In all cases there are distinct premonitory stages, 
degrees of delirium and hallucinations, that can and 
should be recognized ; groups of causes that retard or 
accelerate the progress of the case ; * switch points ’ 
where recognition and treatment will stay or cut 
short the march of the disease. Nerve-taints and 
heredities, nutrient perversions, degenerations of 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 373 

both brain and organism, and an almost infinite 
variety of external and internal causes, enter into 
the history of the case, which point to a future state 
of delirium-tremens, dementia, idiocy, epilepsy, and 
almost every form of paralysis and insanity. 

“ The absence of any of these facts is fatal to the 
value of the history of the case. Attention is called 
to some of these early stages of delirium that are 
unrecognized in practice at present. In a class of 
persons who use alcohol to excess at times, and are 
not regarded as inebriates, these masked deliriums 
are often prominent. Thus, in case of a quiet, 
methodical business man, who at times drank to 
excess, then abstained for indefinite intervals, during 
and after his drinking would manifest intense and 
unusual activity In business. He would take an 
inventory of stock, balance his books, look over all 
his securities, and exhibit great suspicion of being 
cheated. In a few days he would settle down to 
former habits of business. These deliriums always 
came on when using spirits; and while his judgment 
seemed unimpaired on other matters, his desire to 
increase his business and protect himself from loss 
absorbed every other consideration. In the second 
case, a lawyer who drank wine steadily, and only 
occasionally to excess, would at long intervals have 
what his friends termed, not inappropriately, ‘a horse 
mania.’ In this he would go from place to place 


374 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


trying to buy fast horses. He did not purchase, but 
tested many horses, and talked a great deal of their 
merits and demerits. When free from spirits he 
never manifested any taste for horses, rarely ever 
rode behind one, and was never seen on a race-track. 
This delirium lasted for a few days, and at no time 
did he seem unconscious of his &cts and surroundings, 
and said, in explanation of his strange conduct, that 
he could not help it, and he really wanted a horse at 
this time, but could not be suited. In a third case, 
a farmer who usually drank to excess on all holidays 
and special occasions would have a delirium to adopt 
small infants. He had no children and seemed to 
dislike them at any other time. He would in this 
state drive about the country and talk and act quite 
rational, visiting families who had small babes, and 
talk at great length about adopting them as his own. 
In the fourth case, a physician who at irregular 
intervals drank to excess, at the close of his drinking 
period became an enthusiastic musician, buying 
various horns and spending hours in practice. This 
lasted two or three days and absorbed every thought 
and motion ; then it was dropped and only taken up 
again when another drinking paroxysm came on. A 
fifth case was that of an inventor, 'a man of excellent 
judgment and well read in science and mechanics. 
He drank steadily, and at long intervals he would 
have delirious dreams of perpetual motion, and shut 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


375 


himself up for days, working on models to demon- 
strate the idea. In another case, a drinking man, 
who at times was greatly intoxicated, would recover 
with profound convictions of speedy death. This 
delirium would last two or three days, during which 
he would make great efforts to settle his business 
and bid good-bye to his friends. These cases were 
not considered inebriates or weak-minded, but only 
odd at times. These so-called oddities were so many 
symptoms of a grave disease. 

“ There is a large class of so-called moderate drink- 
ers — persons who are not known to use spirits to any 
excess — that at times show great changes of conduct 
and character, often attributed to weak will and vice, 
or some state of exhaustion from over- work. These 
are likewise cases of masked deliriums, heretofore 
unknown and unrecognized. A man of reputation 
and character, who drinks at home regularly, suddenly 
disappears for two or three days, then returns much 
prostrated and remains temperate for a long time. 
During this time he is engaged in excesses foreign 
to his character. He is never intoxicated, and at 
such times seldom drinks, and seems quite clear in 
mind. This delirium is sudden in both its onset and 
termination, and did not appear during two years of 
total abstinence. A few months after he began to 
use spirits it came on again. A second case is that 
of a quiet, retiring physician, who uses spirits irregu- 


376 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


larly, in moderation. Suddenly he would develop a 
religious delirium, pray and exhort in public, then 
relapse to his old retiring habits. These states were 
free from any other unusual act or conduct, and only 
explained as impulses which he could not and did not 
wish to control. A third case was that of a very 
careful, methodical business man, who rarely went 
away from home, and lived a life free from all excesses. 
For ten years he had used spirits at meals, and for 
any disorder or illness. Suddenly he became very 
restless, would drop all business and go away travel- 
ing for two or three days. He seemed to have no 
plan or purpose, only saying that ‘ he wished to go 
about a little.’ These deliriums of travel increased, 
and, by the advice of physicians, he went to Europe, 
and came back much worse. Finally, he became 
insane, and died in the Asylum. A fourth case 
illustrates a large class who are not understood. A 
business man living methodically, and in the best sur- 
roundings, using spirits on the table and at night, 
and in comparative great moderation, suddenly finds 
that he cannot sleep well, and is filled with strong 
suspicions that he is being cheated. In a short time 
this passes away, but returns with greater intensity. 
A council of physicians advise travel and rest ; from 
this he returns worse than before. Finally a pro- 
nounced delirium comes on, and he is sent to an 
Insane Asylum. He is discharged, improved, but his 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


377 


mental health is permanently impaired. Had his 
physicians recognized this incipient delirium, and its 
real cause — alcohol — his recovery could have been 
made permanent. A similar case was that of an 
office lawyer, who lived an almost ideal life of regu- 
larity and quietness. From the advice of a friend he 
began to use spirits at meals and at bed-time. Two 
years later he had short periods of intense melan- 
choly and fear of death. He thought his property 
was insecure and his mind was filled with omens of 
coming disaster. A council of physicians advised 
travel and change, but his family physician, finding 
that he inherited an alcoholic taint, urged the giving 
up of all spirits. The latter counsel was taken and 
he recovered. 

“ These strange unrecognized deliriums appear in 
sudden changes of character and conduct, exhibiting 
strange instability of mind and purpose, and extreme 
credulity or skepticism. A man of excellent judg- 
ment will be duped by the most apparent frauds. 
He will exhibit confidence where he should not, and 
suspicion without any occasion. He will have impres- 
sive dreams and act upon them, and will become an 
investigator of spirit phenomena. Another class 
suddenly have political ambition for office, and, if 
wealthy, are the dupes of designing people. It may 
be safely said, that when a moderate (so-called) or 
excessive user of spirits suddenly exhibits great 


378 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


changes of conduct, motive or character, he is labor- 
ing under a delirium. 

“In some cases of delirium-tremens, where the 
early history has been ascertained, the exact form of 
the delirium has been outlined long before. Thus, a 
man who, after and during a drinking excess, has 
dreams of injury, and nightmares of some horrid 
object persecuting him, or who conceives that his 
best friends are plotting his ruin, will, by and by, 
suffer from a pronounced attack of delirium-tremens. 
When these deliriums are only eccentricities of con- 
duct, acts of unusual character and strange mental 
impulses, the same or worse stages of disease are 
sure to follow. As in sleep, these obscure deliriums 
seem to unmask and reveal something of the degen- 
eration going on in the central brain regions. They 
may be traced in some cases to certain mental states 
and surroundings, whose impress has been fixed on 
the brain in the past. In the same way certain her- 
editary impulses are started into activity and grow 
up unexplainable, unless they are traced back to the 
ancestors. Often the strange hallucinations of sight 
and hearing, associated with delirium, have a phy- 
sical causation that can be realized. Certain forms 
of alcoholic drinks seem to caitse particular kinds of 
cell degenerations with special mental phenomena . 

“These and other facts are supported by clinical 
studies and histories of cases. The practical fact 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


379 


most prominent is, that delirium-tremens, or any 
other form of delirium, will be literally unknown 
unless its etiology is studied with as much care as its 
symptomatology. Another fact appears that, when it 
is ascertained the patient uses spirits, either in excess 
or in moderation, all forms of brain and nerve per- 
versions may be expected. Also, states of altered 
conduct and character, of short durations, are often 
masked deliriums and stages of disease, the study 
and treatment of which gives promise of success 
that grows less as the case goes on. A great deal 
is to be done in this field before all the facts and 
phenomena of delirium following the use of alcohol 
will be understood. The recognition of inebriety as 
a disease, and its transfer from the realms of morals 
and religion to that of medical and scientific investi- 
gation, will open the door into the field of the great- 
est practical interest 

V* The inebriate rarely, if ever, comes under med- 
ical care until he has reached a chronic stage of the 
disease. He is considered in this anterior period 
willful and wicked, and treated by moral suasion, the 
pledge and prayer, and perhaps punished by law, and 
all without relief. At last he comes to the Asylum 
and under medical care. Five, ten or fifteen years 
of the toxic use of alcohol have gone by, the patient 
is a continuous or periodic inebriate, has tried every 
moral means and failed, and yet his faith in his abil- 


380 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


ity to stop at will is unshaken. He comes to the 
Asylum, in his own estimation, not from any inabil- 
ity to abstain on his part, but for some minor affec- 
tion, and to gratify others who misapprehend his 
case. Thus at the start he gives evidence of mental 
derangement. When his case is studied, most deci- 
ded marks of both physical and mental degeneration 
appear. Congestions, ^ and disturbances of heart, 
liver, stomach, skin, and other organs, and alterations 
of the higher functions noted in change of character, 
conduct, motions, dispositions and emotions, are 
clearly apparent. The pronounced character of these 
symptoms of degradation, with the history of their 
duration, point to a chronic stage that is present. 
When these symptoms are noted and carefully 
grouped, they become the starting point from which 
the march of the disease can be traced backwards 
to its origin. Notwithstanding the difficulties of a 
search down through the realm where every event 
or phrase was supposed to come from wickedness, 
the great number and variety of acts that point to 
the regular order of progress, and distinct stages in 
the case, show clearly that inebriety, like all other 
diseases, follows a progressive line of dissolution 
from a certain origin, and developed down to chron- 
icity and death. 

“It will be understood by all who have experience 
in these cases, that heredity is the largest and most 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


381 


prominent factor in the causation — a heredity that 
dates back to inebriate, insane, idiotic, epileptic or 
consumptive parentage. An entailment of degener- 
ation that is likely to develop into any one of these 
diseases, depending upon some unknown determining 
cause ; also that inebriety is surely one of this family 
group, and likely to come from or merge back into 
any one of them. In a study of cases of inebriety, 
running back into the earliest incipient stages, many 
and very prominent symptoms appear which may be 
put down as pathognomic, and may be divided into 
two groups — one, noted before any spirits are used ; 
the other, coming on after alcohol has been used. 
These are only outline divisions, and point to periods 
that may extend over years, or be limited to a few 
weeks. The first may be termed the pre-alcoholic 
stage, and the second the post-alcoholic period. 
Probably the latter stage is more prominent and 
traceable, yet both are physiological and pathological 
periods that have never been studied from this point 
of view before. It should be remembered that in 
nearly all these cases a pronounced heredity is 
present. In these stages a number of prominent 
symptoms appear and increase up to a certain point, 
where inebriety is generally recognized ; then they 
change and are lost in other and more distinct signs of 
progressive degeneration. Thus, a child at puberty, 
or later, at full manhood, will develop an unstable 


382 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


brain and nerve organism easily exhausted, associated 
with a capricious appetite for foods and drink. This 
will go on increasing with varied and complex nervous 
states, then inebriety will at once manifest itself un- 
mistakeably, and rapidly pass to chronic stages. Or 
these symptoms of brain instability and nutrient 
delusions and derangements may appear in previously 
healthy men, following illness, injury, or mental shock, 
such as sorrow, grief, loss and suffering. 

“In many cases the history of the incipient stages 
showed mental disturbances in relation to food and 
drinks. In some cases delusions w T ith regard to care 
of the body, and sudden impulsive ambitions to out- 
strip others in strength or grace or beauty ; or morbid 
fears of death, or delusion as to the power of rem- 
edies, and the possibilities of foods and drinks to 
perpetuate life and keep away disease, was found 
present in clergymen and literary men in many 
instances, which ended in inebriety. 

“ Morbid appetites and unusual tastes, in youth and 
early manhood, are very strong hints of inebriety, 
which may go on or be checked by unknown causes. 
The early history of many cases points to great mental 
activity before inebriety began, in addition to these 
nutritive delusions which have been described. One 
case is that of a merchant, who, from being a very quiet 
man, after the appearance of food delusions, seemed 
to have a delirium of work, which lasted over a year, 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


383 


then merged into inebriety. In another case an 
unusual desire to be noted was associated with his 
delirious food impulses. Thus, the more accurately 
the early history of the inebriate is traced, the clearer 
the evidence of a progressive order of symptoms 
appears before spirits are used, and the subject 
assumes a sudden and enormous expansion, as this 
new realm of psychological forces is seen and com- 
prehended. 

“In the second, or post-alcoholic stage, the symp- 
toms of inebriety, after alcohol is used, are recognized 
more generally. In this class the so-called moderate 
drinker is prominent. Where he is studied carefully 
his condition and symptons are only found to vary 
from the chronic case in degree. The delusion of 
power to stop at will is noted in the chronic inebriate 
and the moderate drinker. A certain number of 
moderate drinkers continue in this state a life-time, 
and suppose it is owing to superior will-power that 
they do not become chronic cases. 

“ Literally, it is the absence of some particular 
exciting cause. As in small-pox, a certain number of 
cases who are exposed do not take the disease. A 
certain number of cases with symptoms of incipi- 
ent phthisis never go on to full development ; so the 
moderate drinker transmits to the next generation a 
disease that is sure to appear in some of the allied 


384 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


neuroses.* The symptoms of this stage of moderate 
drinking vary widely, but all are signs of change or 
breaking down. Delusions of foods and drinks, of 
strength, of superior character, conduct, motives, and 
a steady failure of the higher functions, seen in little 
things — emotional changes, states of exultation and 
depression, great pride in dress and surroundings, or 
the total absence of it. In brief, the history of the 
moderate drinker reflects nearly all the various delu- 
sions and degenerations of the chronic inebriate. The 
skilled psychologist can trace these in outline in 
the stage of the moderate use of spirits. In America 
this stage of moderate drinking is short ; the slightest 
strain or great drain on the nervous system, and he is 
a chronic case, or dies of some intercurrent affection. 

“Another class of cases have been profoundly 
intoxicated or poisoned by alcohol, then abstained 
for an indefinite time, and finally become inebriates. 
This period is full of hints and signs of oncoming 
inebriety. This class have a peculiar interest, because 
many prominent temperance workers come from it, 
and not a few preachers, lawyers and literary men are 
found in this shadowy border-land of disease. When 
these cases come under observation, a new continent 

* Neurosis— A nervous affection or disease. An affection of the 
nervous system occurring without any material agent producing it ; 
without any inflammation or any other constant structural change 
which can be detected in the nervous centers. 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


385 


of psychological facts appears. The following are 

illustrations : A , a distinguished temperance 

lecturer, used alcohol to great excess for two years, 
then abstained for twelve years, becoming famous in 
the lecture field. He drank again. From a study of 
this interval of sobriety, it was found to be marked with 
symptoms of progressive degeneration, that of neces- 
sity would develop into inebriety or some one of the 
family group. Prominent was the almost sublime 
delusion in his strength to resist all temptation to use 
spirits again ; his constantly increasing egotism, and 
alternate activity and indolence. For days he would 
be plunged into deepest depression, unless on the 
lecture stand, when he would appear in the highest 
spirits. Then he would be in a state of great men- 
tal exaltation. He was at times very avaricious, then 
generous, and all his character seemed to become 
more uncertain. His habits grew uncertain. He 
was full of delusions of the care of his body, of food, 
of drink, clothing and sleep, and steadily lost faith in 
the value of honesty or respect for his word. At 
times he would borrow money and refuse to pay. 
He recovered and went back to the lecture stand, but 
he was a chronic inebriate with but little hope for the 
future. B , a man of forty, drank to intoxica- 

tion, and then continued in moderation for several 
months, and abstained. Gradually he gave up his 
work (that of a merchant) and became a lay preacher. 


386 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


He exhibited great egotism and desire for notoriety; 
would sacrifice everything for an opportunity to 
preach. His private life was full of petty selfishness 
and dishonest dealings, grasping, tyrannical, and 
changeable impulses. All this was foreign to his 
usual manner and conduct. He became an inebriate 
after an interval of sobriety lasting eight years, and 
remained so until death. In both these cases the 
first intoxication had started a train of defects that 
continued on through the free interval of sobriety^ 
and could have been recognized by the medical exam- 
iner. The incipient stage in these cases cannot be 
mistaken, and the careful observer will find in many 
circles men of talent and prominence who have all 
the symptoms of approaching inebriety, or even ine- 
briety itself, while they do not use spirits. 

“In the periodical inebriates and the - irregular, 
impulsive, reasoning drinkers, there are always many 
and varied symptoms which show the march of dis- 
solution and the approach of the drink paroxysm 
with more or less certainty. Those who are engaged 
in treating inebriates can anticipate the return of the 
drink craving by symptoms that are fixed and un- 
changing. So expert do they become in certain 
cases as to be able, days in advance, to predict the 
drink storm. This study of early symptoms in 
inebriety must of necessity be only an outline, for the 
reason that the enquiry was begun in the fully devel- 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


387 


oped cases and carried back to the early stages, 
depending on the memory of the patient and friends. 
When these statements were generally uniform and 
consistent with the later progress of the case, they 
were put on record as entitled to confidence. In 
this way outline forms of a distinct stage of inebriety 
have appeared, heretofore unknown except as a period 
of great wickedness. This incipient stage may be 
briefly noted as one in which the higher brain cen- 
tres gradually lose the power of performing their 
higher and more complex functions. Various nervous 
states and forms, with food and nutrient delusions, 
produce exhaustion, which alcohol quickly relieves. 
The injury and change is in the brain centres, in 
most cases depending upon some inherited defect in 
cell growth, or special diathesis, and starting into 
activity from unknown causes. Beginning long be- 
fore alcohol is used, and accelerated into chronic 
stages by this drug, or kindled into activity by the 
first use, it becomes the disease of inebriety charac- 
terized by an insane and maniacal impulse for relief 
from the nameless agony of the degenerated nerve 
centres. Practically, the recognition of this incipient 
stage of inebriety opens up a field of possibilities for 
the cure and prevention, of the greatest importance. 
As an illustration, the wild, impulsive, irritable boy, 
who seems to have no control of himself, and goes 
about almost lawless ; that is sent to sea, or to the 


388 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


army, workhouse or prison, and comes back later a 
chronic drunkard — might have been saved if the 
physician had been called in and recognized in these 
symptoms approaching inebriety. The young man just 
entering business or a profession, who has eccentricities 
of food, clothing, or conduct, which excite ridicule, and 
ostracise him from the sympathy and friendship of 
others, becomes an inebriate. Had these symptoms 
been recognized, and he placed under treatment, this 
would have been prevented. Or, take a more common 
illustration : The overworked business or profes- 
sional man who finds all his previous habits, motives 
and character changing, who has food delusions, and 
who is recommended bitters and spirits by the non- 
expert physician, and soon after finds that he cannot 
stop the use of stimulants, and is an inebriate ; or the 
still more dangerous practice of traveling abroad in 
the wine countries of Europe, by men who have all 
these symptoms of nerve and brain degeneration, 
with nutrient disturbance of both mind and body, 
the result of which, in most cases, is to develop 
inebriety in the most decided chronic cases. 

“ The advice to travel is often fatal to this rapidly 
increasing class of sufferers. All these cases should 
come under careful examination by the physicians; 
the hereditary and mental and psychical hints of the 
present should be weighed as carefully as the state of 
the heart or the nutrition of the body. Those cases 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


389 


should be understood, the 1 danger signals ’ recog- 
nized, and treatment based on them. The history 
points out stages where the prevention and cure 
would have been an easy matter ; but later, a degree 
of degeneration has come on, in which little can be 
done that is permanent. To one who studies these 
cases carefully, comes the most profound conviction 
of disease following a regular order of progress from 
its origin to the termination, over the same roads 
and bridges, with the same symptoms that can be 
seen and traced ; stages of beginning and progress 
when medical skill and art are potent and available 
for cure and restoration, and later stages where little 
can be done except to house the patient and keep 
him from injuring others. To call attention to these 
early incipient stages of inebriety, to explore and 
map out the boundaries, is the pioneer work in the 
great unexplored ‘dark continent’ for scientific men 
of to-day. 

“ The study of inebriety reveals a well-marked 
disease passing through various stages, traceable by 
many and complex signs and symptoms. The incip- 
ient stage seen before spirits are used, is marked by 
dietetic delusions and other symptoms of nerve and 
brain irritability, all of which seem to depend on 
heredity or some obscure injury to the brain and 
nerve centers. A group of symptoms can be found 
in most cases that may be termed pathognomonic and 


390 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


will be seen in the later stages fully developed. 
These early symptoms appear after the first use of 
alcohol, and in some cases go on to full development, 
or are held in abeyance by some unknown force. Prac- 
tically, the recognition and study of this stage opens 
up a field of prevention and cure that will attract 
great attention at an early day. 

“ In this brief glance of the subject, it will be seen 
that states of intoxication are found in inebriates and 
defectives that are positive inheritances. The organ- 
ism has received a positive, permanent impression, 
from which it never recovers ; an inherited pre- 
disposition to this form of defect. Undoubtedly, con- 
ditions of heredity control and govern this condition. 
It will be clear, from this outline-grouping of facts : 
First, that symptoms of alcoholic poisoning cannot 
be trusted as evidence of the immediate use of alco- 
hol ; second, that the excessive use of alcohol leaves 
a permanent defect or impress on the brain, which 
will go down in the future with great certainty, and 
can be traced back to the injury from the toxic action 
of alcohol. In brief, the range of facts that open up 
from this point are truly bewildering, and their dis- 
covery, and the laws which govern them, is the great 
future realm of investigation. 

“ This is the field into which specialists press for- 
ward with increasing enthusiasm, confident that 
behind all this mystery of drink-craving will be found 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


391 


a majestic order of forces ; also, with equal confidence, 

that not far away, inebriety and its evils will be 

understood, treated and prevented, as positively as 

any other disease." # # 

# 

“ These unfortunate persons are generally those 
who are originally in some way constitutionally defect- 
ive, or those who inherit an unstable, nervous consti- 
tution of drunken, neurotic or insane ancestors. As 
such, he should not be regarded in the light of a vol- 
untary offender or a hardened criminal, but as a sick 
and diseased individual, who is in need of humane 
and considerate treatment, and who is, perhaps, sus- 
ceptible to recovery from his disordered condition, 
and to restoration and cure of his infirmity. The 
cause of his present condition — whether intemperate 
indulgence of vicious propensities, or any other rea- 
son — is not now a subject for consideration. The 
mental and physical requirements of the patient are 
to be chiefly regarded. Dr. Bodington, at a recent 
meeting of the British Medical Association, said : 
* For my part I look upon all habitual drinking as a 
disease, and I would boldly call it dipsomania.’ And 
the American Association for the Cure of Inebriates 
takes the broad ground that ‘ Intemperance is a 
disease.’ 

“ Here, our greatest need in the proper care of 
these unfortunates becomes strikingly manifest. We 


392 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


have continually in our midst a class of patients of 
deficient will-power, or nervous force, or principle, 
as we may choose to call it, who become the subjects 
of public care, and are daily becoming such in 
increasing numbers. Their existence as a class has 
been recognized, and their needs partially expressed, 
but in all our broad land there is not an institution 
or establishment properly adapted to their reception, 
or remedial or curative treatment, or for their care if 
incurable. 

“ The fact that they are frequently, and indeed 
generally, brought to our notice through the commis- 
sion of some act which calls for the intervention of 
the civil law, should not blind our eyes to the equally 
evident fact that accountability may be more or less 
deficient, or entirely wanting, in the subject of the 
misdemeanor, and that he is inversely in just this 
degree incapable of the commission of crime, or 
amenable to its penalties.” 

“ There is a limit to the nervous capacity of deal- 
ing with the intangible essences of mind and spirit. 
There is a point among the imperceptible agencies 
concerned in the operations of living, beyond which 
the legitimate authority of the nervous system cannot 
go. While the greater number of men possess an 
even and controllable sensibility of nerve, adapted to 
the conditions of a uniform and subordinate life, 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


393 


still there are many who are ruled by a nervous sys- 
tem so acute and over-sensitive, that they are con- 
tinually on the rack of uncertainty and discontent. 

“It is true, the intensity of such a nervous sys- 
tem may be the means, at times, of perceiving things 
and their relationships, which are imperceptible to 
common minds. The highest achievements of lit- 
erature, of deeds, fall to the lot of minds like these 
— those who feel keenly, write clearly, and speak 
grandly. But the lowest depths of anxiety and 
despair are not unknown to these bright minds. 
Sometimes the imagination is elevated into a sphere 
of grandeur, of nobility, and of the most exalted 
sublimity; anon, it ‘falls like a falling star’ into 
regions of gloom — melancholic, suicidal. All minds 
are subject to moods and periodicities, but the acutely 
sensitive mind is peculiarly subject to them. To a 
mental and physical organism thus tried and tossed 
upon the ocean of time, how alluring, how welcome 
is a haven of rest ! 

“ Sometimes by mere chance, and again, perhaps, 
with a purpose, the alcoholic cup finds its way to the 
lips of the man with unstable and quivering nerves. 
Instantly the exalted sensibilities of the nervous sys- 
tem are allayed. Forebodings cease to disquiet, and 
a pleasing sense of repose tranquilizes the body and 
comforts the spirits. The paralyzing influence of 
alcohol relieves the grievous worry of the whole 


394 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


being. A first experience of this kind is like a 
pleasing revelation. The mind revels in bright 
imaginings without a single pang of distress. The 
galling sense of responsibility and the dread of im- 
pending but undefined evils are removed. Mental 
work is easy and agreeable. Happy thoughts and 
grand ideas throng upon the imagination in endless 
succession, and everything appears clear and beauti- 
ful. It is not strange, when alcohol produces such 
effects as these, upon a mind naturally given up to 
trouble and unrest, that a resort should be had to its 
soothing influences, not only with frequency, but 
with determination. And if this were all, alcohol 
w r ould seem to be a friend, indeed. 

“It will be observed that, while the real object of 
the occasional drinker is to secure the supposed im- 
provement of some special quality of body or mind, 
the object of the periodical drunkard is to obtain rest ; 
repose of mind and body. He seeks, in fact, the 
paralysis of alcohol to quiet the perturbations of a 
sleepless nerve activity. Therefore, he drinks for 
the sake of drunkenness ; for the sake of what- 
ever there is in it that will act as a sedative to his 
nervous irritability. It has been said that inebriety 
is a crave of overwhelming power for intoxication — 
not intoxicating liquors. This may be an inheritance. 

“ It is true that certain traits and conditions of 
body and nerve are transmitted, in some degree, 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


395 


from ancestry to posterity. The conditions of nerv- 
ous constitutions which find relief in alcohol, may, 
through heredity, become the conditions of a simi- 
lar constitution in posterity. The conclusion is, that 
whatever affords rest to the nerve instability in the 
progenitor, will also afford relief to a like nervous con- 
dition in his offspring. In this sense, the alcoholic 
appetite may be called hereditary. Alcoholic indulg- 
ence is a potent factor in producing both functional 
and structural degeneration in the nervous constitu- 
tion, and to say that alcoholic proclivity is inher- 
itable, is not wholly wrong. That the status of 
nerve energy, the data of nervous manifestations, are 
often derived from ancestry, not only in the matter 
of impulsive drunkenness, but in many other par- 
ticulars, must be apparent to honest and capable 
observation. 

< 4 Any very slight singularity of position or arrange- 
ment among the cells of the brain, is probably 
conducive to singular habits. A gentleman, when 
in the days of his childhood, had an inveterate 
habit of chewing his finger nails, and it was only 
after he was compelled to use his hands in employ- 
ments that were incompatible with this bad habit, 
that he could relinquish it. A considerable number 
of his posterity have the same habit up to eight or 
ten years of age, and it seems impossible to break 
them of it by any effort of their own. 


396 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


“ There is a peculiarity about the drinking dispo- 
sition of the impulsive inebriate. His potations are 
only limited by the bounds of physical endurance. 
Alcibiades, among the ancients, was a spasmodic 
inebriate. His impetuous and impulsive act of throw- 
ing himself before the wheels of a moving wagon, 
while he was yet a youth, in order to secure a trifling 
demand, was only of a piece with the long train of 
desperate and impulsive movements which character- 
ized much of his life, both drunken and sober. It 
is a common threat of a certain spasmodic drinker, 
that he will cast himself beneath the wheels of a pass- 
ing locomotive in case he is checked in some unrea- 
sonable conduct. It is by no means sure that, in a 
spirit of drunken and insane bravado, he would not 
carry out his threat. The obstacles imposed by the 
paralysis of alcohol upon the right exercise of both the 
intellectual and moral faculties, are really surprising.” 
# # 

Who is the spasmodic drunkard, and what are 
his natural associations and relationships ? 

In answering these questions, the testimony of 
authorities that are unimpeachable will be relied on 
exclusively. 

The distinguished writer and thinker, Dr. Louis 
D. Mason, states the proposition : “Alcoholism in 
progenitors will produce physical and mental degen- 
eration in their descendants, such as epilepsy, chorea, 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


397 


paralysis, Imbecility, insanity, and idiocy ; and the 
laws which regulate these degenerative changes, are 
similar to those that govern degenerative changes 
from other inherited causes. 

u It is to these laws, governing the degenerative 
processes, that attention is solicited. From them the 
inference will be that spasmodic drunkenness is a 
member of the family of insane neuroses. That is, 
one of the characteristic freaks of insanity, just as 
epilepsy, chorea, some forms of neuralgia, and imbe- 
cility, are members of one and the same insane 
family connection. It will be observed that the 
insane neuroses are classified together by the best 
authorities, and that spasmodic drunkenness is named 
as one of them.” 

Dr. Blanchford says: “ The particular character 
of mania depends upon the character of the individ- 
ual. A person may at one time be melancholic, and 
at another maniacal. But the same form of insane 
demonstration may frequently be seen in successive 
generations, as suicidal mania and hereditary drunk- 
enness.” 

Dr. D. H. Tuke enquires: “When mental dis- 
ease is transmitted, does the same form of insanity 
descend? Very frequently this appears to be the 
case. Of drunkenness the cases are so common 
that it is not necessary to detail any example.” 

“Not one of the transmitted wrongs,” says Dr. 


398 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


B. W. Richardson, “ is more certainly passed on to 
those yet unborn, than the wrongs which are inflicted 
by the use of alcohol.” 

Dr. Parrish remarks : “ Some persons are born 

with an alcoholic diathesis. It is the internal craving 
for liquors for their intoxicating effect, that consti- 
tutes the disease, and not the drunkenness.” 

This distinction is a sound one. The disease is 
inward ; the symptom, the drunkenness, is external ; 
and drunkenness, the crave for intoxication materi- 
alized, is a symptom of more than one pathological 
state. The fact is, the original trouble causing the 
alcoholic crave, is no longer operating alone. While 
it remains the same, there are associated with it new 
complications, which also demand the alcoholic 
excitement. The increasing demand for alcohol is, 
therefore, indicative of additional morbid changes in 
the constitution, not of additional strength in the 
original appetite. The reckless manner of drinking 
favors the production of physical changes in the 
bodily structure ; and these, being degenerative, 
instinctively require a more frequent resort to alco- 
holic influences in order to keep up, temporarily, the 
falling powers of important organs. It is in conse- 
quence of such facts as these, and of certain func- 
tional disabilities following their establishment, that 
the casual drinker may be transformed into the 
habitual drinker; and the periodical inebriate is 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


399 


almost sure to undergo a similar transformation and 
become a chronic inebriate. 

“It has been said, that the impulse to drink is more 
urgent in some persons than in others. In opinions 
respecting responsibility for crime, this should be 
taken into consideration. The strength of the im- 
pulse may be measured, not only by the facts in issue, 
but more particularly by the history of the besetment ; 
as, whether ancestry was truly insane, and the like. 
This will also measure the resisting capacity, a very 
important matter in the question. For it is impos- 
sible to conceive that a man is truly sane who is beset 
with a proclivity that his judgment and will cannot 

control.” * * 

* 

What shall be done with the inebriate ? 

“ Although the alienists have pretty clearly defined 
the mental status of the chronic inebriate, yet their 
views have not been generally adopted by our profes- 
sion ; and the legal profession, with a few honorable 
exceptions, still hold to the belief that drunkenness is 
not a symptom of a diseased brain, but a wilful viola- 
tion of statutory and moral law ; and the laity also, 
especially the religious element, look upon the 
drunkard as one in whom the Evil One reigns 
supreme. 

“The answer to the above question must come 
clear and emphatic from the medical profession. 


400 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


They alone are able to solve the problem. No fine 
spun theories of legal or moral ethics have yet 
explained that overpowering crave for alcohol, which 
is always manifested by the chronic inebriate. 

“ But the most important question to be deter- 
mined by our profession is this : Do the cell changes 
which occur in the brain of the drunkard, become 
fixed to such a degree as to be transmitted in his 
offspring ? This is the most important field of inves- 
tigation. The present drunkards will soon pass 
away ; but few live to old age. But the number is 
increasing from year to year. What — if anything — 
can be done to arrest this increase ? 

‘ 4 Notwithstanding prominent alienists, neurolo- 
gists and physicians, by patient, earnest investiga- 
tion, have arrived at apparently sound conclusions, 
relative to the hereditary transmission of alcoholic 
diathesis, yet more light is required to produce a 
unanimous belief in its truth, and to convince the 
legal profession, and the people, that the chronic 
inebriate is of unsound mind, and that his offspring 
does inherit an abnormal nervous diathesis, which 
may manifest itself in drunkenness, insanity, or some 
other form of brain and nerve disturbance. 

‘‘Whenever the medical profession are a unit on 
this grave question, the victory over prejudice, born 
of ignorance, is assured, and the drunkard will be 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


401 


placed under proper treatment, or the causes which 
produce the disease will be removed. 

“ There are only two methods of arriving at cor- 
rect conclusions on any scientific truth ; the first is 
by our own individual investigation ; the second, by 
the investigation of others. 

“ As a general proposition, when the opportunities 
are favorable, our own individual investigation gives 
the most satisfactory results. Therefore, I would 
suggest that each physician investigate for himself 
the subject of inebriety in all its bearings upon the 
inebriate and his offspring. 

“ The field is wide, the material abundant; the 
opportunities, unfortunately for humanity, are to be 
found in every community, and the labor will be 
comparatively light. 

“ This form of cumulative information will have 
an important bearing on the future, and may serve as 
a basis for a more united action. 

“To illustrate my meaning more fully, permit me 
to give a few cases which I have studied with little 
labor and tax upon my time. 

“A., an habitual drunkard, died in the prime of 
life. Two children were born during the period of 
his inebriety ; one died at the age of thirty, of apo- 
plexy, and the other is now in an insane asylum. 

“ B. was a periodic inebriate, naturally of good 

constitution and business qualifications. He had 
26 


402 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


three sons, all temperate and steady in habits while 
young. One died early of consumption, although 
there was no family history of disease on either side 
of the descent. A second died of some obscure 
disease in which the neurotic element was strongly 
marked ; and the third, at the age of forty-five, became 
a confirmed sot, with strong homicidal tendencies. 

“ C. was for many years a confirmed sot. He 
had three sons. The youngest had the neurotic 
temperament strongly marked ; was restless, vacil- 
lating, easily excited, passionate, and an impulsive 
drinker. The second, at the age of forty-five, 
became a periodic drinker, and is now hopelessly 
bound by an insatiable crave for intoxicating drink. 

“ D., a man of good brain, had accumulated a fair 
competency, and, by slow degrees, had become an 
inebriate. He had three sons, all nervous and irri- 
table, and subject to uncontrollable fits of anger on 
the slightest cause. One died early from nervous 
affection ; the second, at the age of thirty, filled a 
drunkards grave, and the third is now a hard and 
constant drinker. 

“ E. had a large family ; was one of the finest 
mechanics I ever knew ; of intellectual development 
far above the average. He early fell a victim to 
intemperance. Out of a family of nine children, all 
but the eldest were of low moral and intellectual 
development ; some died early of convulsions ; others, 


INEBKIETY A DISEASE. 


403 


still living-, are wanderers on the face of the earth, 
continually begging for whisky or the money with 
which to purchase it. 

“ These are but a few cases taken at random from 
many of like nature, which have come under my 
own personal observation during a professional life 
extending over a period of well-nigh forty years. 

“In taking these five families and comparing them 
with five families under like circumstances, where 
there was no drunkenness in their history, direct or 
remote, the contrast is startling and worthy of care- 
ful study. 

“ If the experience of you, my brethren, harmon- 
izes with that of myself, the question, ‘ What shall be 
done with the inebriate ? * is easily solved. Either 
remove the drunkard from the liquor, or place the 
liquor beyond the reach of the drunkard. The 
former cannot be done ; the latter must be done, if 
we would escape the opprobrium that we are fast 
becoming a nation of drunkards. 

“ There is much worthless literature on the subject 
of intemperance. Many honest, but ignorant efforts 
have been made to reclaim the drunkard. So far, 
all have signally failed to arrest the onward march of! 
that terrible disease which fills the land with mourn- 
ing, and our cemeteries with dishonored graves. If 
relief comes, it must come through the medical pro- ; 
fession. If drunkenness is a disease, let us boldly 


404 


INEBRIETY A DISEASE. 


proclaim it. If the disease of the father is visited 
upon his children and his children’s children, let us 
write so plainly that judge and jury, prosecutor and 
defender, the learned and ignorant, may read and 
understand.” 


AUTHOR’S COMMENTS. 


It would seem a superfluous labor to place any 
further argument before the man to convince him, 
that by the use of alcoholic drinks he not only 
reduces his own capabilities for the promotion of 
mental and moral health, but also endows his family, 
and through them the coming race, with weaknesses 
which tend towards mental and moral dementia. 

One other illustration of the powerful action of 
unassimilative substances upon the mental organism, 
will be of interest. 

In the Insane Asylums of California are many 
Chinese, and the greater proportion of these are 
afflicted with the insanity that develops from within, 
and which is the result of hereditary tendencies. 
Almost without exception, these people in their 
demonstrations reveal the action of ,opium as it is 
noticed in the habitual user ; a peaceful quiet, a com- 


AUTHOR’S COMMENTS. 


405 


panionship with self ; a disregard of surroundings, 
and a somnolency of passions. Bearing, always in 
mind that no opium is allowed them, and that they 
are never under its direct influence, the inference 
that their insanity is the result of ancestral excesses 
in the use of this drug, assumes the strength of a 
positive knowledge. 

The attendant who finds his time and patience 
fully employed in the care of fifteen of other nationali- 
ties, would gladly exchange places with the more 
fortunate one who cares for forty patients in a 

Chinese ward. * * 

* 

Regarding the illusive appearance of colors, the 
hallucination of sounds and their investment of 
objects, loathsome and otherwise, as delineated in 
the delirium-tremens scene ; assurance is here given 
that the writer’s imagination was allowed no privi- 
leges, but that in this scene are embodied the actual 
experiences of three subjects who hold in their 
memory the vivid horrors of the action of alcohol 
upon the sensory organs, subjectively. To them, 
these appearances were real. To aid the reader to a 
better appreciation of this scene, it should be said, 
that the three experiences are isolated between the 
strokes of the clock, but blended into one by the 
distraction of sounds and colors, and Haldon’s insane 
delusion of weapon and fiend. 


406 


AUTHOR'S COMMENTS. 


For the further interest and information of the 
reader, regarding the action of illusion, delusion or 
hallucination upon the subject, not only in delirium, 
but through the whole history of insane demon- 
strations, the following is presented — found in Hux- 
ley and Youmans’ Physiology : 

“There are no delusions of the senses; phe- 
nomena of this kind are not uncommonly called 
delusion of the senses, but there is no such thing as a 
fictitious, or delusive sensation. A sensation must 
exist to be a sensation ; and, if it exists, it is real, 
and not delusive. But the judgment we form 
respecting the causes and conditions of the sensa- 
tions of which we are aware, are very often delusive 
enough ; and such judgments may be brought 
about in the domains of every sense, either by arti- 
ficial combinations of sensations, or by the influ- 
ence of unusual conditions of the body itself. The 
latter give rise to what are called subjective sen- 
sations. 

‘ ‘Among subjective sensations within the domain 
of touch, are the feelings of creeping and pricking of 
the skin, which are not uncommon in certain states 
of the circulation. The subjective evil smells, and 
bad tastes, which accompany some diseases, are 
probably due to similar disturbances in the circula- 
tion of the sensory organs of smell and taste. 


AUTHOR’S COMMENTS. 


407 


“ Many persons are liable to what may be called 
auditory spectra — music of various degrees of com- 
plexity sounding in their ears, without any external 
cause, while they are wide awake ; and every one 
must have been startled, at times, by the extreme 
distinctness with which thoughts have embodied 
themselves in apparent voices. 

“ The most wonderful exemplifications of sub- 
jective sensations, however, are afforded by the 
organ of sight. 

“ Any one who has witnessed the sufferings of a 
man laboring under delirium-tremens (a disease pro- 
duced by excessive drinking), from the marvelous 
distinctness of his vision, which sometimes takes the 
forms of devils, sometimes of creeping animals, but 
always of something fearful or loathsome, will not 
doubt the intensity of subjective sensations in the 
domain of vision. 

“ What the senses testify is neither more nor less 

than the fact of their own affection. As to the 

cause of that affection they really say nothing, but 

leave the mind to form its own judgment on the 

matter.” # # 

# 

A woman’s privilege it is, to reserve herself from 
alliances that may accomplish the degradation of her 
own higher moralities, and the mental and physical 
inferiority of her children. The danger of trans- 


408 


ATJTHOK’S COMMENTS 


mitting insanity to her posterity by a union with one' 
who is addicted to the use of nerve-stimulants, is 
not the only consideration to which she should give 
attention.* 

Look about you — this applies to all latitudes and 
longitudes where men use alcohol as a beverage — 
and note the action of this nerve-taint in the homes. 

You will see nervous and hysteric women, melan- 
choly and irritable school girls, pale faces, inferior 
and unsymmetrical bodies, with weak and perverted 
mentalities; and these, in swelling numbers. Your 
remoter maternal ancestors were not thus. 

In the offices, in the stores, in the shops, upon the 
street, and upon the farms, you will see men and 
boys with weak brain power and sluggish thought ; 
with inferior physical forms and vigor; with strange 
fancies leading to delusive conclusions ; nervous 
impulses tending to excesses ; all these, men and 
women, bearing upon their conditions the heredi- 
tary stamp of the great nerve-destroyer ; all these, 
men and women, sojourning in the border-land of 
insanity. » * 

Woman ! aid not in the perpetuation of such asi 
these. Civilization has nearly reached the altitude 

*The same agency which produces inherited insanity, produces 
also inherited nervous irregularities, insomnia, irritability, insta- 
bility of mental and physical action, and inferiority of mind and I 
body. 


AUTHOR’S COMMENTS. 


409 


where tardy justice will clothe you with the political 
power to end this mighty evil. Until that time pro- 
tect your womanhood as best you may. Withhold 
yourself from him who reveals the effect of drink, 
direct or inherited. Taste not, yourselves. That 
woman may drink wine, is the libertine’s hope. 










































































































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JF THIS BOOK SHOULD BE THE MEANS OF HOLDING ONE 
GENEROUS HEARTED YOUTH FROM THE DRINK THAT 
WILL DEGRADE HIS INTELLECT, OR ONE PURE MAIDEN 
FROM THE IMPULSE THAT MIGHT LEAD HER AND HER 
CHILDREN INTO A LIFE OF SORROW, THEN AM I RE- 
WARDED FOR MY EFFORT, A THOUSAND-FOLD. 




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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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